


Always You and I

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Series: The Demon AU [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU- Ward isn't Hydra, Child Abuse, Demon!AU, F/M, Past Alteration, Skye and Ward have Known each other since they were teenagers, Ward is Hellfire, Ward's Family are Huge Pieces of Crap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-07-11 16:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 54
Words: 117,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7060057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grant Ward's life ended when he was just ten, when his powers manifested. Locked up by his family for five years, he lost all hope. But SHIELD finds him following the fire that destroyed his house. Broken and lonely, he had no one at all. But enter young Skye, who's determined to be his friend. Little did they know it would ignite a lifetime of possibilities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. These Monsters We Create

(Early 1993)

 

“Just what the hell are you?! You’re not my son!”

Little ten year old Grant Ward cowered beneath his mother and father’s hate-filled glares. He tried to ignore the fact that his father had a small handgun trained on him, he was so scared that he didn’t know what to do. Scooting backwards until his back hit the wall behind him, Grant covered his tear-filled eyes with his angry, red hands, “Momma!” he wailed, his tiny frame shaking. “I didn’t do anything! Why are you so angry?!”

His mother practically hissed at him, but was too afraid to approach him. Young Grant didn’t know that they were only acting this way out of fear. It was always said that humans tended to hate what they feared. And his parents were completely and utterly terrified of their ten year old son just because of one thing:

He was a gifted.

Mother’s eyes drifted back to the scorched area of grass, where a blast of flame had hit it after propelling out of Grant’s  _ hands. _ The little boy had created fire with his very own body and it had completely terrified his parents. And of course Grant was too young to really understand just what was going on. He didn’t know where the fire had come from, he hadn’t realized that it had come from his own hands. He had been yelling at Christian about something, he thinks it was about leaving Tommy alone, and suddenly the grass was on fire and his parents and older brother were screaming.

You see, the Wards were a very prideful family and the very thought that some kind of ‘freak’, their words, was absolutely inconceivable to them. It would ‘ruin’ the family image. During this decade, gifteds were rare, only heard of after crazy events where a lot of people died. To think that their own ten year old son was one of these ‘monsters’ put a lot of fear into them.

To them, Grant was now something that should be either put down or locked away. He wasn’t their son anymore. 

His parents were never particularly nice to him, being borderline abusive to him and his younger siblings a good bit of the time. And Christian wasn’t better, he was almost worse. So the fact that their middle son could just suddenly fling fire around like it was nothing was the final nail in the coffin for them to completely disown him.

His father sneered and approached him slowly, the gun still pointed at the boy, “Are you that freaking stupid, I thought you were supposed to be smart.” he hissed lowly. “You didn’t see what you just did? The fire? We didn’t raise a freak, you’re not our son. Not anymore. Actually, you’ve never been right.” He lowered his voice, “Is this  _ power  _ the reason to why we always found you playing with matches?” he used the term ‘power’ lightly. 

Grant was flat-out bawling at this point, the red of his hands increasing. That only meant that the fire hiding underneath his skin was itching to get out again. “I’m not a freak!” he cried, shying away from everyone. “I’m your son!”

Father lashed out and slapped the boy across the face, “Don’t you ever say that again to me. I’ll show you what this gun can do. You’re not human,  _ boy. _ ” he spat. “You don’t deserve humane treatment, but I’m too good to kill anyone.” He lashed out again and grabbed Grant by the ankles and started to drag him across the yard back towards the house, “No one can know about a freak like you, so you’ll stay hidden.”

Grant was kicking and screaming to try and get out of his father’s grip. He was clawing at the grass, embers that were jutting out of his palms were now burning the ground. “Leave me alone!” he cried, the heat growing deep within his body. “Leave me alone.”

He was dragged inside the house and to the basement door, which his mother came in and threw open. He looked down the dark stairwell, “W-What are you doing?” he stammered, his voice wracked with sobs. 

His mother sneered, “Showing you what you are.” she stated coldly and turned and walked away from them.

The next thing Grant knew, he was falling down the stairs, the wood scraping every bare part of his body. His father had thrown him down the stairs. Once he hit the bottom, surprisingly fairly unharmed, Grant looked up to the light of the doorway to see his father standing there menacingly with the gun still hanging from his hand. He turned around and slammed the door shut, the sound of locks being turned followed.

Grant blinked, slowly realizing just what had happened. His father had locked him in the basement, all because he was able to do something strange. Grant didn’t understand the reasoning behind it, but he had a feeling that he would be in here a very, very long time. 

His life was over.

Meanwhile, Tommy came into the kitchen, wondering what all the screams and slamming doors were about. He saw his father stalking away from the basement door with a gun in his hands. He was old enough to know that a gun meant something bad happened. And he had heard Grant’s screams, “Daddy?” he asked quietly. “Where’d Grant go?”

Father stopped and turned around, a snarl etched onto his face. The snarl softened as he realized that it was just Tommy, “Oh, he’s just, uh, out.”

“What’s in the basement.”

He looked to the door and let out a silent string of curses towards it, knowing of the ‘monster’ inside, “Oh, nothing.” he lied. “That’s just what happens when you’re a damned freak like your brother.”

* * *

 

  
  


(Five Years Later)

 

Grant Ward, now fifteen years old, stared blankly at the wall on the other side of the basement. Just how long had he been in here? He really didn’t know, but he had estimated five years now. That would make him about fifteen, he had been denied five straight birthdays. But did he really even deserve birthdays anymore? He had lost his humanity that day five years ago when the fire had shot out of his hands. The day his parents locked him in this basement and never let him out again.

The only interactions they gave him were either his younger siblings, which were to bring him small amounts of food (even though they did sneak in extras for him every now and then), or his tutor. He found it hard to believe that even though his parents treated him like garbage and had him locked away like some kind of animal, that they actually cared about his education. He wondered what crap they spun to cover all this up with the tutor. Probably something like he was very ill and was homebound. Something like that. But he did look the part.

He received very little food even though with his pyrokinetic abilities he should be getting like three times the average amount for a fifteen year old. Grant was very thin and weak and was severely underweight. A major part of him just wanted to give up and die, but there was still a small part that held out hope for his freedom. He had been deprived of basic human interaction for five years and had been traumatized to the point where he had developed several mental issues.

His parents like to come down to the basement every now and then just to beat on him. To them, his was their own personal punching bag that they took out their frustrations on. They didn’t care what happened to him, they were just too cowardly to try and fulfill the death threat they had against him. 

Five years. That’s how long he had spent in this hell of a prison. He had little to do, at least his tutor gave him a lot of homework. And he didn’t even act like a normal fifteen year old boy, he was still very childish in his mentality all because he had never been given the chance to grow up. His parents denied him that fact. 

He longed for freedom, but didn’t know what it would entail. Hell, he had unnatural powers, he couldn’t be out in the normal world like this. He just wanted his own freedom.

And he didn’t know that today would be that day, no matter how unorthodox the solution would be.

Christian had come down the stairs, practically spitting at him. He was in one of his ‘blame Grant for everything’ moods and wanted to mess with him. He loved to tease the younger boy for his ‘condition’, that’s what the Ward family was calling it now. Grant had a ‘condition’ that made him very, very ‘sick’. Christian just loved to call him a freak.

Grant looked up and his eyes widened as he saw his older brother in the room. The gifted scrambled backwards across his makeshift bed, “What’d you want?” he asked quietly. “I don’t want you in here.”

“No one gives a crap to what you want, freak.” Christian chided, slowly approaching him. He knew the possible danger he was in while messing with Grant, but he didn’t care. “Mom and Dad’s out of the house for a while and left me in charge.” His lips curled into a nasty grin, “That means I control things around here and can do whatever the hell I want to to you, Grant.” 

He strided over and plucked the scrawny boy off the bed and threw him to the ground, “You know, I don’t see why they didn’t kill you long ago.” he sneered, planting his foot down onto Grant’s side so he couldn’t move. “You’re so pathetic.”

Grant was always too scared to try and fight back, even though he was way stronger than any of them combined. He was too traumatized by them and just the sight of them sent him into a violent panic attack. This was trash parenting at its complete worst. 

He struggled underneath the weight of Christian’s foot, feeling the burn of the fire accumulate in his chest and hands. All the rage that had built up for the past five years was about to explode, and literally at that. “Please,” Grant groaned. “Just get off of me.”   
This only made Christian grind his booted foot into his side, “A freak can’t tell me what to do.” he laughed. “You can’t do anything, you’re pathetic. A worthless coward.”

Grant heaved out a breath of air and he saw dark smoke rise from from his lips. That only met one thing: the fire was about to come roaring out. He groaned as Christian took his other foot and rammed it into Grant’s stomach, causing him to heave again.

“Leave me alone.” Grant growled, trying to shove Christian off of him. That only got him another foot in his gut, causing his rage to approach the breaking point. That rage gave him the strength to shoot up and knock his older brother to the ground. Grant rose above his fallen brother and Christian froze to see that his eyes were glowing with orange flames. Smoke rose from his fingertips as his lips curled into a ravenous snarl. This is the anger that they had created, they were to blame for what would happen now. 

Christian rose to his feet and slowly backed away from Grant with a sneer on his face, “This is why you’re a freak, Grant. A human being can’t make heavy smoke pour from their fingertips. You’re a demon, that’s what you are.”

Grant continued to glare at him, “So what if I am?” he stated coldly, his fear completely washed away due to his furious rage. “Then I have all the reason to kill you.” Flames erupted in his clenched fists, “Demons kill damned humans.” The entirety of his skin was glowing an unnatural orange color, he was literally about to blow now. “I want you all dead! You can’t keep me caged like some kind of animal!”

Christian warily eyed the stairs, prepared to run, “That’s because you are, Grant.” he croaked, fear slowly taking him over. “You deserve this treatment.”

Grant’s entire body started to shake, a sign that he was about to blow. “No, I don’t.” was the last thing he said before his body went rigid and Christian took his opportunity to run. The orange glow intensified before flames ripped from his body, devouring every last part of the basement as he fell to the floor.

It took a few minutes for Grant to come out of it and realize that he was in the middle of an inferno. He had set the house ablaze. He had actually set his house ablaze.

Fear overtook him as he ran up the flaming stairs and into the kitchen. The flames had started to eat at the kitchen as well. It would only be a matter of time before the entire house would be an inferno. And he knew only one thing: he had to get the hell out of here.

Grant ran out of the house, not caring about anyone within his family anymore, not even his younger siblings. That love died five years ago. He just wanted to run before someone could find him, and he didn’t care to where he ended up. He ran for what seemed like hours on end. He didn’t care to where he ended up or even if he survived. He just wanted to be  _ away _ . And there was another thing that he knew for sure:

His life was most definitely over.

* * *

 

 

(Elsewhere)

 

“Agent Coulson, sir. We’ve got a report of the Ward household going up in flames. And there’s no sign of Grant Ward.”

“You think he escaped?” Phil Coulson asked, turning to look at the agent that come into the room. “We could never get to him. Because his sorry-ass parents tried their all to cover it up.”

The agent shrugged, “I don’t know. But are you sure that he’s actually a gifted? It’s been five years since that report actually first came up. Then he went off the radar. It’s not normal for a ten year old boy to disappear like that, sir.”

Coulson sighed, “That’s why we need to investigate. He’s just a kid, I know that he’s scared and has nowhere to go. We need to find him before he can do anything else worse than his house. I’ve got a place where he can go, where there’s a few other kids like him.” he explained, standing up. “We’re going to bring him in. Before something else bad can happen. But if he ran, there’s no telling to where he is and how long he’ll last on his own.”

“So we’re going now?” the young agent asked, watching as Coulson crossed the room and grabbed his jacket from his desk.

“Yep, we’re going to go find and save Grant Ward.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So quick note, Skye won't show up for another chapter or two. She comes up after Coulson brings Grant in. But I do hope that this does work! Please leave a comment or kudos! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	2. Nobody's Worthless, Especially Someone Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson introduces himself to the young Grant and makes a vow to help him at all costs.

(A Month Later)

 

Grant Ward leaned his head back against the dilapidated wall of the abandoned apartment building, ignoring the burning hunger within his empty stomach which was slowly growing numb. When had been the last time he ate? He was pretty sure that a month had passed since the house fire, so a month had passed since he had last eaten. His augmented biology due to his powers had allowed him to survive this long without food, but he wasn’t going to last much longer. But truth is, he had deliberately been depriving himself of food because he truly no longer cared to live.

His skeleton-like figure sunk against the wall as black spots began to dance on the edges of his vision. Was this truly the end for him? But it wasn’t like he cared or anything, he actually wanted to die. He had no one at all, his family had abandoned him long ago. He figured that he should’ve ended it all just last month, but he couldn’t muster up the courage to try anything. So that was why he was trying to starve himself to death.

A fifteen year old boy shouldn’t feel this way, that he deserves to die. But no other fifteen year old boy had gone through the hell he had gone through. No other fifteen year old boy and been locked away and severely abused by his own family just because he had freakish powers. He had been through enough for several lifetimes. 

His head drooped against his chest as everything was growing numb. First it began in his legs then it spread up to his torso. Perhaps this was Death grabbing him in its hand and trying to drag him down to hell, but he didn’t care. Anything was better than what he currently had. He just wanted it all to end.

The faint thump of what could’ve been footsteps sounded outside of the torn room, but Grant didn’t hear it. Everything had grown numb at this point and he couldn’t feel or hear anything. He didn’t even notice as the door swung open and several figures stormed into the room and half surrounded him. 

One of the figures separated from the others and approached him slowly, kneeling in front of him. The figure was saying something to him, he could tell that. But he had no clue to what the person was saying. He didn’t want to look towards the figure, but he also couldn’t muster the strength to even lift his head.

The person in front of him sighed and shook his head, “Grant.” he repeated softly. “Can you at least hear me? My name is Phil Coulson, I’m with SHIELD. We’re here to get you some help.”

Grant didn’t register the man’s words and he only slumped even more against the wall, a sign that he was just about gone. His scarily-thin frame was starting to shake violently. Coulson wasn’t sure of what the boy was truly capable of, he just knew that he was pyrokinetic in nature.

_ “Crap, we got to him too late. God, we failed. Just what has happened to him?”  _ Coulson thought, looking back to his agents and shaking his head.  _ “He’s dying. It took us a whole damn month to find him after the fire. We could’ve saved him sooner. If only we had gotten to him five years ago. I don’t know what state he is in.” _

Grant’s eyes began to fall close as the black spots grew and started to consume his vision. This was truly the end. But what did this man want? Did this man actually want something from him? Was he actually trying to save him? But Grant truly didn’t care what happened now, his body was growing limp and weak. He could swear that the man in front of him had his hands on his shoulder and was trying to shake him awake.

“Grant!” Coulson exclaimed, shaking the boy by his shoulders. “Stay awake for me! We’re going to get you some help! Don’t close your eyes, please.”

But Coulson watched as Grant’s eyes closed and his body completely slumped to the floor, unconscious. His eyes widened and he took the now-unconscious boy in his arms, whom of which was surprisingly light despite his height. But this boy had no muscle or fat on him whatsoever. Coulson took a sharp breath and his head shot towards his agents, “Radio back into the base, tell them we need medical assistance and that we’re bringing in a deathly ill gifted boy. We’re not losing him.”

Coulson stood up, carrying the young boy in his arms. He looked down to Grant’s pale, unconscious frame, “Don’t worry, Grant. I don’t know what’s happened to you, but you’ve got help now. You’ve got someone.”

* * *

 

(About a Week Later)

Grant had been awake for the past several days now, but unresponsive to anyone who tried to even just talk to him. He still wanted to die, but the starvation attempt had failed. Whoever these people were didn’t want him to die at all. They had him hooked up to numerous IVs with differing nutrients and medicines to try and restore his health for a few days. He was on normal foods now, but not all that much. But what did it really matter when he had no desire to live? 

It had been a week since the men in dark suits had come and taken him from that building. They had denied him his death wish. He didn’t know what they wanted from him. Apparently they saw something worthwhile in him, something that Grant could not see at all. He was some kind of freak that could shoot fire from his skin. He had been this way for five years now, and nothing could change his opinion of himself. 

And it was that seventh day that he was in this strange hospital when the dark-suited man with light-brown hair came back into his room. He had come in here a few days ago to try and talk to him, but Grant hadn’t talked. But today was the day when Grant decided to talk.

He watched as the older man came into his room and pulled up a chair and placed it next to his bed. The man sighed as he sat down and rested his eyes onto the young boy, “Grant, I know that you don’t want to talk, but you’ve got to at least say something, son.” he stated quietly in a caring voice.

Grant’s eyes remained locked on the wall ahead of him, but his lips parted and he decided to say something. “Where am I?” he croaked, surprising the man. He turned slowly to look at him, “Where am I?” he repeated.

The man blinked and nodded, giving the boy a soft smile, “You’re at a SHIELD base, Grant. We found you almost dead, hiding in an abandoned apartment building.”

“Who’s SHIELD?” Grant asked, dulled-out eyes resting on the man. “Never heard of you.”

“Well, that’s the idea, Grant. We work in the shadows to protect the rest of the world. We’re spies more or less. SHIELD stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division.” the man explained. “We sometimes work with people like you, even though people like you are rare.”   
Grant swallowed, “What do you want with me?”

“We want to help you, Grant. We know that you have powers that you cannot control at all. We can help you get better and learn how to control yourself.” the man explained even further. “We have all the proper resources available in order to help you.” He pointed at Grant’s frame, “The first step in all of this is to get you back to the proper weight. You’re severely underweight.”

“Why do you care so much?”

The man took a breath, “Here at SHIELD, we believe that everyone gets a chance. We know that you didn’t get it. We worked for five long years to save you from your family. But they worked hard to cover you up and keep you a secret. We’re sorry that we couldn’t get to you sooner, son.” He smiled again at him, “We’re giving you another chance, to show that you’re not whatever your family led you to believe about yourself.”

Grant didn’t respond to that, he hated mentioning his family. He would love to completely forget about them. He decided to move onto something else, “Who are you?” he asked quietly, ignoring the gnawing hunger in his stomach. Well, at least the hunger was coming back. 

The man stood up, pushing the chair back, “I’m Agent Phil Coulson, I’ve been the one in charge of your rescue operation for the past five years.” he explained, coming closer to the boy. “I’m truly sorry that we couldn’t get to you sooner, son.” He placed a hand on Grant’s shoulder, not knowing the consequences of said action.

Grant completely froze up at the physical contact. No, no one could touch him. No one could touch him. His arms lashed out towards Agent Coulson, “Don’t touch me!” he screamed. “Keep your hands off of me!” 

Coulson dropped to the ground just as a massive blast of flame shot out of the young boy’s hands. The flame roared over Coulson’s head and crashed into the wall behind him, burning the metal. The agent blinked and slowly stood, seeing Grant practically snarling at him, the young boy’s body shaking and his hands glowing with an unnatural orange light. 

Coulson raised his hands, “Grant, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,”

“No one touches me.” Grant whimpered, drawing his thin legs to his chest. “I don’t like people touching me.”

Taking a breath, Coulson realized that the young boy had a strong, traumatic aversion to touch. The medical agents had found signs of violent child abuse all over the young boy’s frame. Scars, old fractures… They were all over him. Coulson didn’t truly want to know just how badly Grant’s family had treated him, but that violent reaction to just a simple touch told him that it had all been way too much.

“I was their punching bag.” Grant muttered, not waiting for Coulson to respond. “If they were angry, they would just take their frustrations out on me. I always had something broken, but they didn’t get me any help. I think I heal fast though, ‘cause the breaks never stayed long.

They didn’t see me as a human. So to them it was alright to treat me like an animal, beating me and locking me up.” he continued. “Humans don’t care for those who are different, they seem them as lesser.” The boy was beginning to cry at this point, his frail frame trembling with each sob.

Coulson felt so strongly for this boy. This had been the boy he had worked for five, long years to try and save, and he had failed to do so. The boy was so broken and traumatized, all to the point where he was suicidal. “Look, Grant, I will not hurt you. No one here at SHIELD will hurt you. We’re not like your family. I’ve worked with gifteds before, so I know how to treat someone like you. You’re not an animal or a monster, you’re nothing like that. I see a strong man in your eyes, you have the potential to become something much, much greater.” he explained. “You have the potential to prove your parents wrong.”

Grand looked up at the agent with red-rimmed eyes, “You really think so?” he asked quietly. He shook his head and looked away once more, “Stop trying to make me believe things that aren’t true, Agent Coulson. I want to die. I’m not worth saving. I’m nobody. Why try saving a nobody?”

Coulson smiled at him, “Nobody’s nobody, Grant. Even you.” he replied. “Look, you’re only fifteen, you’ve got your entire life set out in front of you, son. Don’t let it end here. I know that you’re not in a great place right now, but I’m going to do everything in my power to help you. Mental help, physical training, all of that. I’m not going to let you die, Grant. I worked so hard to finally come and save you, and I’m not going to let you slip away now. You’re completely worth it.”

Grant truly didn’t know what to say. He actually had someone standing right in front of him that actually cared for him, even though Coulson was pretty much a stranger to him. No one had cared for him for so long and now he had someone that was more than willing to help him. He remained silent and turned his gaze from him.

Coulson nodded, “Look, Grant, you’ve got a few days until you’re free to leave this base. I’ve got a facility I can take you to where there’s about five other kids about your age that are also gifteds. SHIELD rescued them from bad situations and found them somewhere to stay. If you want, you can live there. You’ll get everything that you need there. I’ll let you think over it until you’re released.” he explained. “But I do think it’ll be good for you.”

Grant nodded numbly, but didn’t respond to Coulson’s proposition. In a way, it did sound nice. To have a place to live where he was taken care of and there were other kids like him. But he was also unsure of it because he had never had proper social interactions with other kids, so he didn’t know how things would go.

“I’ll think about it.” he muttered, still not looking at Coulson. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

With a sigh, Coulson ran his hands through his hair, “Look, Grant, I do believe that the facility will be a good place for you to be. But I am not going to push you to do something that you don’t want to do, son.” He took a good look at the frail and skinny kid, “I’ll let you think. Is there anything that I can get you right now?” he asked.

Grant didn’t know how to respond. No one ever asked him what he wanted. Even though it was such a simple question, he had no clue how to respond to it. Luckily, his stomach rumbled, reminding him of one thing he wanted. “Hungry.” he stated. “I do kind of want food.”  

Coulson nodded and smiled, “I can do that. You’re actually free to leave the room for a while.” he stated. He motioned for the boy to follow him, which Grant wasn’t so sure about. “We’ve got a big cafeteria, has anything that you would want. Just don’t overdo it.”

And Grant could swear that he was drooling at Coulson’s mention of food. He hadn’t had anything good to eat in years and now he had the chance. He wasted no time shaking his head yes and slipping out of the bed. He stood on his shaky legs and began to follow Coulson out of the room. It made Coulson laugh to figure that all that Grant wanted was some food, but it was also very sad at the same time. He had been deprived of decent food for so long and SHIELD scientists had already deduced that the young boy needed like three times the amount of calories that the average fifteen year old boy needed. He probably didn’t even get a sixth of that. 

Coulson led the young boy down the hall, which was luckily devoid of any other agents that could frighten him. “Don’t worry, Grant. You’ll be okay. Like I said, you’re not just some worthless nobody. I know you can become someone great. And I’ll make sure that just that will happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm updating this a little early today! I completely miss good guy Coulson, he would've done something like this. So in my AUs, Coulson stays S1 Coulson. And we get a glimpse at just how messed up the young Grant is. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	3. You Were There From the Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant goes to the facility and meets someone new.

Coulson watched carefully as Grant came back to the table with a tray piled high with all types of food. The older man raised an eyebrow as the boy sat down, “Don’t you think that’s a little too much food for you?” he asked softly. “I mean, you are just recovering from starvation after all.”

Grant shrugged and stared at the food with a ravenous light in his eyes, “I don’t know, sir.” he meekly replied. “There was just so much and I didn’t know what to choose, so I got everything that I wanted.” His eyes drifted off the side and avoided Coulson’s gaze, “I never had a choice. Every decision was made for me because my parents believed that I didn’t have that right. They locked me in the basement for five years with little food and nothing to do. There was stretches of time where they just forgot to feed me. My younger siblings were the ones to try and sneak food to me.”

With a slow nod, Coulson rested his eyes on Grant, “Look, you can get all the food you want here. And at the facility.” he began to explain. “We will not treat you like an animal, we will treat you like a normal human being. Yes, there are a few different protocols that are in place for gifteds, but that’s just to make sure that everything goes okay.”

The boy slowly reached for his spoon and began to shovel spoonfuls of food into his mouth. Coulson was amazed as he watched the boy devour every single morsel of food that was on the tray. He wasn’t kidding when he said that he was hungry. Coulson was afraid that eating this much food would make Grant sick, but he showed no signs of discomfort. Grant looked back up to Coulson.

“Can I… Can I get some more?” he asked quietly. “I’m still hungry.”

It was hard to believe that the boy was still hungry after all of that. But Coulson decided that he deserved it and nodded, “Yeah, you can get whatever you want, Grant.”

Grant hopped up out of his chair and hurried back over to the food. Coulson stifled a laugh,  _ “If he’s going to eat like that on a daily basis, he’s gonna have to be on one hell of a workout regimen.” _ he thought, watching the boy get even more food.  _ “He’s young, he’ll be able to do it. And the scientists did say that his body more than likely works a lot faster, so it’s possible that he can regain fat and bulk up muscle in no time. But he needs to get to the facility first.” _

“Are you okay, sir?” Grant asked as he sat back down with another tray piled high with food. “You were zoned out there for a moment.”   
Coulson shook his head and smiled, “No, no. I’m okay. I was just thinking about a few things, that’s all.”

Grant began to eat his food, “Is it about me? I don’t want you worrying about me.” he said between mouthfuls of food. “I’m not that important.”

“Like I said, Grant, you are important. I don’t care what your family led you to believe, because they are wrong. You’re not a monster, you’re not an animal. You are worth it, just like everyone else.”

“Whatever.” Grant mumbled, his dull eyes looking down at his food. “Doesn’t change anything.”

Coulson decided not to try and argue with the young boy and decided to move on. “Have you thought about my offer for the facility yet?” he asked, watching him carefully. “I don’t want to wait long to move you there.”

With a shrug, Grant set down his spoon and looked up, “I guess.” he said quietly. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

“Good.” Coulson replied with another nod. “But I do have a few conditions for the place though.” He didn’t wait for Grant to respond, “You are to see a psychologist as needed. You’ll be put through a training program to help with your powers and help get you back to health.”   
Grant froze up at the mention of ‘powers’ and began to shake his head, “I don’t want to work with them.” he mumbled. “I don’t want them, I don’t want to use them. Never.”

“Grant,”   
“I’m not going to use them!” Grant snapped, turning his head away from Coulson. His shouts had some of the agents in the room look towards them. “They’re what I’m running from! Why would you think that I would want to ever use them?!”

Coulson raised a hand, “Grant, look, we’ll get to that. There’s obviously more important things that you have to work on before then, okay?”   
Grant didn’t respond.

“I’ll take you there tomorrow.” Coulson continued, deciding not to dwell on that fact any longer. “First, I do want to take you somewhere and find you clothes since you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back. My treat. Get whatever you need.”

He had never been shown this level of kindness before, so Grant didn’t know what to say. And that wasn’t just because he was mad at Coulson for talking about his powers. This practical stranger was willing to spend his own money to get him things that he needed. He just looked away and shrugged, “I guess.” he muttered. “Doesn’t matter.”   
Coulson nodded again, “I’ll take you tomorrow before I take you to the facility, alright?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

* * *

  
  


(The Next Morning)

 

Grant stared in amazement at all of the clothes in front of him. He hadn’t been in a store for so long, so this was all really hard for him to process. He looked back to Coulson and gestured to all of the clothes, “I can seriously get whatever I want?” he asked.

“Well, not technically.” Coulson stressed, watching the young boy. “I’ve kind of got a budget here. Get you a few pairs of pants, some shirts, and a pair or two of shoes.” he explained. “I’ll wait here as you gather some things, alright?”

Grant nodded and ran off, leaving Coulson to himself. The older man sighed and sat down in one of the chairs nearby to wait for Grant. “I know that he’s not going to go overboard or anything, so it probably won’t take that long. I should probably let him get something for himself as well.” he muttered to himself. 

Coulson waited for about an hour before Grant came back with a pile of clothes in his hands and a shoebox on top of it. Without a word, he took everything from the boy to look through it. Grant had picked out a few pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts, a jacket, and a pair of boots. Not all that much, but Coulson knew that it made him happy. 

He looked back to Grant as he put the clothes into a waiting cart, “Is this all you want, Grant?” he asked.

Grant nodded, “I didn’t really know what to choose, so that’s what I got. I don’t like making any kind of decisions, it’s weird.”

Coulson bit his lip, this was still sad. The boy didn’t even know how to make simple decisions like choosing clothes for himself. But at least he tried his best. He nodded, “I was thinking, you can go choose a little something for yourself, nothing too big.”

Grant’s eyes lit up again, “Really, sir? I can?” he asked, his eyes surveying the store as he tried to see what he actually wanted. “Thank you!”

“Look, Grant, it’s really not a problem. I just want you to be happy, alright?” Coulson replied, scratching at the top of his head. “Go take a look around. Meet me back here.”

With a hearty nod, Grant ran back off into the store. It made Coulson happy to actually see the boy so cheerful. He had only known this kid for a week and this had been the only day he had been truly happy. But Coulson knew that it wouldn’t last long. The boy would probably be depressed again as soon as they got to the facility. Grant had already made it clear that he didn’t want to socialize with the other kids, but Coulson was going to see that ended up differently.

Another hour passed and Coulson saw no signs of Grant. He didn’t know to where the boy could’ve possibly run off to, so he decided to take the cart and go find him himself. Coulson figured that the boy was just too overrun with so many options to the point where he didn’t know what to do. 

Coulson searched all over the store until he found the kid in the book aisle with a few books in his hands. The older man approached him, “Grant, are you okay?” he asked.

Grant looked up at Coulson and held up the books for him, “Which one do you think I should get, sir?” he asked.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “A book? That’s what you want?”

“I…. I really don’t know what I like, sir. So I didn’t know what else to get. And I did do a lot of reading while locked-up, so I do kind of enjoy doing that. There were plenty of books in storage in the basement. They were kind of like an escape from what I was going through.” Grant explained meekly, his eyes resting on the three books. 

The older man’s eyes scanned the books. Grant only had three and it wasn’t like he was asking for much, so it wouldn’t hurt to let him get all three. “Look, you can get all three of them, does that sound good?” 

Grant’s smile grew even bigger, “Really?!” he exclaimed. “I can?!”

Coulson smiled and laughed, “Yes, you can, Grant. As long as you’re happy. Now, get those books and we need to go pay for all of this stuff and head out towards the facility. We need to get you settled. 

* * *

  
  


(Later)

 

Coulson was right when he suspected that Grant’s depression would return once they got to the facility. The boy hid behind him, his three books in hand, as Coulson led him towards the kids’ sector of the building. It was obvious that Grant was beyond scared, he was meeting people that he didn’t know. And Coulson already knew that Grant had no socialization skills with kids his own age as well. So that was something that needed to be worked on. 

Once they got into the sector, Grant could see a group of kids playing. All looked to be as though they were about his age, all within two years of him. Coulson turned to the fifteen year old and sighed, “Grant, I’m going to introduce you to them. You really don’t have to say anything to them, it’s just good to let them know that you’re here. But don’t be surprised if any of them does try to talk to you. The youngest girl, she’s about thirteen, is very sociable. She’ll definitely try to talk to you.”

Grant nodded, but remained silent as he slowly followed Coulson towards the group of kids. The kids stopped as they saw Coulson walk up with someone new behind them. Grant continued to hide behind Coulson, despite being a few inches taller than him. 

“Guys, I’ll like you to meet Grant Ward.” Coulson began, knowing that Grant wouldn’t say anything. “He’ll be staying here for the next while. I’d like you all to try and treat him kindly, he’s not quite used to being around others.”

The group of kids, three boys and two girls, looked at Grant as though he was a strange sight. Well, that was because he technically was. The boy was so skinny that it looked as though you could touch him and he would break in half. But no one said anything though. They all assumed that he had come from a very bad situation, they all had. But they had a feeling that he had been through a whole lot worse than what they could imagine. And they knew that Grant didn’t want to talk one bit.

Grant peered out from behind Coulson and quickly surveyed the group to see who he was dealing with. His eyes landed on a brown-haired, bright-eyed girl that was staring back at him. She seemed to be maybe a year or two younger than him, this must be the chatty, thirteen year old girl Coulson had mentioned. Their eyes met briefly and Grant quickly looked away, a slight blush on his pale cheeks. He had to admit, she was kind of cute. But he wasn’t going to say anything.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him and continued to watch him as he shied back behind Coulson’s back. She knew that she had to try and talk to him, even though it seemed as though she wouldn’t get much out of him. But he seemed like a nice kid, she just had to get to him.

Coulson sensed Ward’s discomforted and cleared his throat, “Now, Grant, I’ll show you to your room.” he began. “You can further meet the others later when you feel a little bit better.”

Grant nodded numbly and began to follow Coulson out of the common area. And the girl continued to watch them as they lugged the bags and disappeared. She didn’t wait for anyone to say anything, she began to follow them. She wanted to talk to the new kid. And besides, she did find him pretty cute, despite his skinniness. He was probably really sick and was currently healing. But she figured if he had some muscle on him, he’d really be a looker. 

Meanwhile, Coulson got Grant into his room and watched the boy as he sat down on the edge of his bed after placing his books aside on the side table. “Grant, do you think you’ll like it here?” he asked. 

Grant shrugged, trying not to think about the girl, “I don’t know.” he mumbled. “Can I just sleep now?”

Coulson nodded as he placed the clothes bags aside, “You can. I’ve got to do some paperwork dealing with your intake. I’ll be back in a few hours, so you’ve got time to sleep.”

Grant turned and laid down on the bed, not replying to Coulson. Coulson sighed and left the room, closing the door behind him. “God, I’ll hope he’ll do okay here.” he muttered to himself. He walked off, not noticing the girl hiding around the corner. 

The girl came up to Grant’s door and opened it without knocking. She went in and found Grant laying on the bed. He jolted up and turned to look at her, an uneasy look forming in his eyes. They maintained eye contact for a while before he finally spoke:   
“Who the hell are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we all know who this girl is. It's not that hard to answer. And I did make Skye only two years younger than Grant here to make it work. So he's fifteen and she's thirteen in this. I hoped you enjoyed! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	4. Right Off the Bat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye tries to get to know Grant.

Grant blinked, studying the young girl that stood a few feet from his bed. This was the same girl that had stared at him earlier when Coulson had introduced him to the group of kids. The same girl that he had thought was cute. Now she was in his bedroom and she was staring at him. But she didn’t respond to his question. 

He ignored the burning feeling in his chest, the sign that the fire was rising to his skin, “Again, who are you?” he asked, a little bit more polite this time.

“I’ll tell you my name after you say something about yourself.” she stated, crossing her somewhat-toned arms. He blushed slightly, she did have a nice voice for a thirteen year old. 

“About myself?” Grant questioned, keeping an uneasy gaze on her. “Like what? There’s nothing I really want to say about myself. Now, get out of here.”

Her lips pulled into a teasing smile, “Hmm, not until you tell me why you’re here.” she stated again. God, she wanted to know a lot already.

The color drained from Grant’s face, now he didn’t want to mention how he got here at all. He wasn’t going to mention his family or his attempt to starve himself to death. “I-I,” he stammered. “I don’t want to say it.” He shied away, pushing himself back further on the bed. 

The girl blinked, realizing that she had hit a sensitive spot with him. It was clear that he didn’t want to bring what brought him here up. “Oh, uh… Sorry, you don’t have to say it.” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to,”

“You don’t have to apologize, you didn’t know. It’s better not to talk to me. I told Coulson that I wasn’t going to talk to anyone. I don’t like people and I never will.” Grant said, keeping his eyes away from the girl. “Just leave me alone. I really don’t want to be here anyways.”

“Look,” the girl began, coming closer to his bed. “That’s what everyone says when they’re first brought here. I was the second to come. You’re the sixth, so I’ve seen about three others’ reactions to this. They’re scared, because they all come from a bad situation. They have powers that they’re scared to death of. They don’t want to talk to anyone and want to stay holed up in their room for the rest of their lives.” she explained, not caring that he wasn’t looking at her. “You’ll eventually get used to this place sooner or later. It may take a while to do so, but you eventually will. Don’t worry.

And none of us bite, so you don’t have to worry about any of us hurting you.” she continued. “We’re all friends here. So you’re completely safe here.”

Grant took a sharp breath in, “Look, whatever your name is, I’ve never really had ‘friends’. Anyone that I tried to trust ultimately hurt me in the end because they were scared to death of me.” He brought his thin legs closer to him. “I don’t know who to trust. Trust gets you bad places. Trust gets you locked in your own basement for five years and treated like an animal by your own family. Trust gets you called a demon.”

The girl blinked, not realizing just how messed-up this kid was. But she wasn’t going to ask questions about it, she knew it would probably cause an adverse reaction from him. But she did have one question though. Just what was he? Coulson didn’t mention what this boy’s powers were. And if they were bad enough to have his own family turn against him and call him a demon, then they had to be bad news. She shuttered at the thought.

“Look, Grant, you can trust us though. We’re all in the same boat here. You do may have it worse than us, but none of us have anywhere to go other than here. Hell, I’m an orphan. SHIELD found me last year when something that I can’t remember happened to me and my powers came out at the orphanage where I lived.” She stifled a small laugh, “Never seen a group of nuns so scared in my laugh.” She shook her head, “Anyways, none of us have any kind of reason to hurt you. You’re safe.”

Grant looked over to the girl and blinked. The girl now realized that he had golden-brown eyes that seem to shine with a dull, fiery light. “Why are you in here anyways?” he asked softly. “Why are you talking to me?”

She smiled, “I try to make it my job to be the first one to talk to anyone new that’s brought in. And besides, you do seem really nice.” she replied. 

Grant didn’t respond, he only blushed and turned his head away.

“Look, I’m not gonna bug you much longer. I know that you’re uncomfortable.” she continued. “I just wanted to get to know you, that’s all.”

“Well, you’re not going to get much out of me.” Grant stated lowly. “There’s nothing interesting about me.”

She decided not to bring up anything about to why he was here or his family since he seemed to be highly traumatized by that and decided to just ask the most generic questions. “Hmmm. Where are you from?” she asked.

Grant blinked, not expecting such a simple question, “Uh, Massachusetts.” he state simply.

She smirked, “Figured you were from up north. Heard it in your voice. How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“Birthday?”

“January 7th.”

The girl thought again for something pretty simple that wouldn’t get him too worked up. She just wanted to know the basics, but she knew that she wouldn’t get a lot out of him. “Uh, full name?”

“You know my name. You heard Coulson say it earlier when he introduced me.” Grant deadpanned, confused by her question. 

She smiled again, “Not your full name. What’s your middle name?”

“Uh, what?” Grant didn’t really like his middle name, so he didn’t really want her knowing. But he knew that she was going to pester him until she knew. “My what now?”   
“You heard me. What’s your entire name?”

Grant looked down, and twisted his lips, “Grant Douglas Ward.” he muttered, just to where she could hear him.

She raised an eyebrow, “Douglas? Really? Well, at least it’s not Gertrude or anything.” she joked.

“Okay, you now know my entire freaking name.” Grant almost snapped, glaring at her through narrowed eyes “And I don’t know yours. That was my first question, so you’ve gotta answer it now.”

“It’s Skye. With an e.” she replied quickly.

“Skye what?” Grant asked, blinking at her. “What, no last name?”

Skye looked down and away from him. And Grant realized that he had hit a sore spot with her. “It’s just Skye. Like I said, I’m an orphan. This is the name that I gave myself because I never knew my real family.” she explained. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize. Sorry.” Grant stated, ashamed of himself for being as rude as he was with his question. “Well, I wish I didn’t know my family. I’d rather not have one at all.” He turned away and grew silent, suddenly not feeling very well. He was tired and just wanted to sleep, and Skye wasn’t letting him have that.

Skye swallowed and continued to look at Grant, not really understanding his situation. Just what had his family done to him? Was he really telling the truth when he had mentioned being locked up in his basement for five years? But again, she wasn’t the one to ask. She didn’t want to set him off. She felt like there was some kind of darkness hiding within the kid that she didn’t want to incur at all.

Several minutes of awkward silence followed before the sound of the door opening jerked just her attention. Grant had zoned out for some reason and wasn’t paying attention to anything at this point. Skye looked to see Coulson coming into the room, his eyes immediately going to her. 

“There you are, Skye.” he stated. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Should’ve figured that you were in here.” His eyes flickered to Grant’s motionless form sitting in the middle of the bed. He frowned, knowing that Grant now needed some space, “Skye, how about you go find the others?” he asked quietly. “I don’t think that Grant’s doing too well right now and he doesn’t want to talk anymore. Okay?”

Skye understood the older man and nodded, not wanting to set off Grant for any reason. She left the room without a word.

Coulson sighed and walked slowly over to Grant’s bed, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. “Grant, son, are you okay? I see that you’ve met Skye.”

Grant stayed silent for a few seconds before looking over to Coulson and shrugging, “I’m fine. She just talked a little too much. Kept wanting to know too much about me.”

“Well, you don’t have to say anything that you don’t want to say.” Coulson replied, shaking his head. “But Skye’s like that. She just wants to be your friend, Grant. Surprisingly, there are people that will truly be friendly with you. Not everyone is bad. Skye’s just a little talkative and likes to stick her nose into a lot of things. But she backs off when she figures that she’s doing too much. Overall, she’s probably the best kid here. What did you think about her?” he asked.

Grant shrugged again, “She’s okay. Talked a little too much, but I already said that. But she’s nice though.” he replied, playing with his hands. 

Coulson smiled and nodded, standing to his feet, “See, Grant? You’ve already started making a friend. I just don’t want you to close yourself off from her. Get to know her. I feel like you two will hit it off pretty quickly. Watch, you two will become great friends before you know it.” He turned to face the young boy, “You’ll do well here, I’m sure of it.”

Grant nodded slightly and turned his gaze from Coulson without another word. It was clear that he didn’t want to talk anymore.

“Go get cleaned up in the bathroom, son.” Coulson stated, figuring that Grant really wanted to sleep now. “Take a shower, brush your teeth. Anything you need is in there. Then get changed into some of your new clothes and rest a while. I’ll let you know when it’s time for you and the other kids to eat, alright?”

The boy replied with another nod and shakily pushed himself off of his bed and rose to his feet. Coulson smiled at him and left the room. Grant turned to face the door to the small bathroom in his room. He was glad that he had his own bathroom and didn’t have to share with anyone. As he walked towards the small bathroom, he thought of Skye. He actually kind of liked her. She was nice and was actually pretty cute. The thought of her made him blush.

_ “I guess I might actually like it here afterall.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And of course, Skye and Grant hit it off right off the bat, hence the chapter title. And Grant decides that he actually might like it at the facility all because of his budding friendship with Skye. Good, right? Oh, and I'll be out of town until Friday starting tomorrow, so I don't know when I'll be able to update this. So please bear with the wait. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Please do tell me what you think about this fic, I haven't got much reception like that on this and want to know what you think!)


	5. There's Light at the End of This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant starts to have a little bit better time at the facility.

“So, what’s his problem?”

Coulson blinked and turned to face one of the young gifteds, Josh, “Excuse me?” he asked, a bit of coldness in his voice. He was already protective of the young Grant, so any kind of dislike towards him was going to annoy him.

Josh shrugged, “I just asked what that kid’s problem is.” he stated. “I’ve never seen anyone that skittish around other kids before. Not even any of us. What’s up with him?”

“He’s been through a hell of a lot, Josh.” Coulson started to explain. “And it’s not my place to tell any of you. I don’t think he really wants anyone to know what he’s been through. But I will say this, he was severally abused by his family to the point where he’s extremely traumatized.” His eyes scanned the five gifteds and he took a breath, “I imagine you all heard of the big house fire a month ago in Massachusetts? The one where it involved a senator’s family?”

“Yeah?” Josh asked cautiously, running a hand through his short, brown hair. “What about it? It was all over the news. They said that one of the kids got killed in it.”

“That’s what they want you to believe.” Coulson stated simply, crossing his arms. He nodded back towards the rooms, “Grant’s that kid. And he caused the fire. He just escaped shortly after it and his family hated him so much that they made it seem that he died in the fire.”

“Wait,” Skye began, taking a step forward. “ _Grant_ started the fire? That’s actually possible?”

“Skye,” Michael, another one of the kids, said softly. “You control seismic waves and I can control the freaking wind. And that’s not the weirdest thing here. You actually think that that kid somehow causing the fire himself is impossible? It’s actually pretty likely.”

Skye frowned, “No, it’s just that… It’s just that he doesn’t seem like that, you know. He’s too… He’s too….”

“Scrawny? Terrified?”

Coulson held his breath, “Look, just stop all of this now.” he stated coldly. “Yes, Grant did cause the fire. His powers are pyrokinetic in nature. Meaning that he can create and control fire himself. But he absolutely hates them. So when he comes in here, do not talk to him about them or even ask him about them. There’s some kind of traumatic link between them and him that will set him off when they’re just mentioned.

Do not ask him about where he came from or how he ended up here. Nothing relating to his powers or his past.” he continued. “Just try to be friendly with him. Strike up a normal conversation with him if you can. Grant isn’t much of a talker because he actually has no socialization skills whatsoever, I believe.  Just be friendly and do not try to alienate him at all, please. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, sir.” they all said back in unison.

“Good.” Coulson stated simply, a small smile on his face. “Now, go sit down and get ready to eat. I’m going to go get him and bring him back here. “

Coulson spun around and walked off back towards the rooms to go find Grant. Hopefully the kid had gotten ready and was waiting for the older man to come back and get him. Coulson didn’t know how long it would take for Grant to get back to full health. The kid needed to be on a good diet and a proper workout regimen to build back up fat and muscle. Coulson imagined that Grant could possibly be pretty bulky with muscle if he would just give it a few months. His body worked pretty fast and it was possible for him to be muscular in just that short amount of time.

And Grant also needed a heavy load of therapy to help with his trauma-related problems. From what Coulson could tell, Grant had some form of PTSD, anxiety, depression, anger issues, and probably other things that hadn’t been unearthed yet. His heart hurt for the kid, just the thought of anyone trying to hurt Grant made him feel sick to his stomach.

Coulson reached Grant’s room and walked in to find the kid sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed, a book propped open in his lap. The kid had cleaned up a lot as well. Grant had used the supplies in the bathroom to cut his hair and tease it into a somewhat-spiky style. The faint wisp of hair on his chin stood out against the paleness of his face. His new clothes hung off of his frail and thin frame, despite them being close to his size.

Grant looked up as soon as Coulson shut the door behind him and stepped towards his bed. The kid blinked before saying anything, “The food’s ready?” he asked, closing his book and setting it aside.

With a nod, Coulson smiled at him, “Yep, the other kids are already sitting at the table waiting for you. You can go and get whatever you want to eat, I know that you do like to eat a whole lot.”

“Do… Do I have to talk to them?” Grant asked meekly, avoiding Coulson’s gaze as he stood to his feet. “I really don’t feel like talking to them.”

Coulson shook his head, “No, you don’t. I already told them that you probably won’t talk much, so they know not to pressure you into saying anything.” he replied. “All you have to do is eat then you can come back here to your book.”

Grant nodded shakily at the older man and let him lead him out of the bedroom and towards the dining area of the sector. He didn’t like the idea of being in such close proximity to others, especially when they didn’t really know what he was truly capable of.  He felt like some kind of major risk to them, like one little slipup and he kills them all. And truly, he doesn’t know how to talk to others. He spent five years with little interaction with others, so he doesn’t even know what anyone likes. Hell, he doesn’t even know what he likes let alone others’ interests.

Maybe they just would leave him alone and let him eat. Maybe they wouldn’t talk to him at all. But knowing that Skye would be there, at least one person would be talking and that person would be her. Truly, he didn’t mind Skye. He actually kind of liked her. She just talked a little too much for his tastes, but he wasn’t about to tell her off because of that. He wasn’t going to run off the one person that actually seemed to want to be his friend. Not at all.

Coulson led Grant into the dining area and Grant could see the five kids sitting around a somewhat-large table with food in the middle of it. They all turned to look at him and he could immediately feel his chest clench up in anxiety. He hated them looking at him. He hated anyone staring at him. It felt as though they were judging him for what he was. But he didn’t even know what he was. His family had always called him a demon, so that’s what he believed himself to me. Demon… It actually felt so appropriate for him. Was it possible that he was actually somehow born a demon?

He shook this thought out of his head as he further approached the table. He paused momentarily as he saw that the only empty seat was right next to Skye. Okay, this had to be intentional, there was no way that this was just a mere accident. Skye turned around and began to wave at him for him to come over. Yep, this was all her doing. He blushed slightly at the thought that she actually wanted him to sit next to her.

“Grant!” she called, still waving. “Come sit here! I promise I won’t bite!”

He hesitated for a moment before Coulson came up behind him and gave him a slight nudge. Grant turned his head slightly to see the older man smiling at him.

“Grant,” he whispered. “It won’t hurt to sit next to Skye at all. It looks like she wants to be your friend, which is a really good thing. Again, you don’t have to say much. But sitting next to someone that you may actually end up liking will be good for you.”

Grant didn’t say anything in response, but he did slightly nod a yes before slowly making his way over to the empty seat next to Skye. He blushed and avoided her gaze as he pulled the chair out and sat down in it. He kept his eyes on the food in front of him as she began to talk.

“So, you feeling any better?” she asked quietly, watching as Grant began reaching for food and piled it onto his plate. The amount of food he was piling on his plate surprised her. This scrawny kid could eat that much? But she wasn’t going to be the one to ask about that. Coulson said there was a lot that the kid hated to talk about, so she had to be careful with what she said around him.

Grant shrugged and began poking at his food with his fork, “I don’t know.” he mumbled. “Not really. I’ve actually never really been ‘better’.” He trailed off and began numbly shoving food into his mouth.

The other kids, except Skye, just stared at him. Just how much had this kid been through for him to act and look this way? Coulson told them not to ask whatsoever, because it could apparently ‘set’ him off. What that meant, they really didn’t want to find out. Coulson had said that the kid was pyrokinetic, so making him angry was probably a really, really bad idea on their part. It was best to stay quiet and just watch.

Skye looked him over again briefly before getting her own food. At least the kid had cleaned up before he got in here. His hair had been completely long and unruly just not too long ago, now it was styled into a nice cut. She had to admit, he did look good. But he looked so tired and exhausted, like he would just drop dead at any moment. And his skeleton-like frame didn’t help one bit. Skye found it hard to believe that the kid was still alive despite being this way. That was probably why he was shoveling mountains of food into his mouth, he probably hadn’t had a decent amount of food in a very, very long time.

“So,” Coulson began at his place at the head of the table. He normally ate with the kids since he looked after them a whole lot. Well, more Skye than anything. He had been the one to find her after her powers had manifested. Now he had Grant as well. He had a load on his hands now. He looked towards Grant once more, “Grant, I was thinking about something.”

Grant froze and briefly looked up, his fork hanging out of his mouth. This kid had no manners whatsoever, but Coulson wasn’t about to call him out like that. If anything, Grant had the mentality of a ten year old because of what his family did to him. He didn’t know how to act like a fifteen year old boy because he never had the chance to grow up.

“Hmm?” Grant mumbled from around the food in his mouth.  He didn’t know what the older man was about to say, and that absolutely terrified him.

“I was thinking that I should get you on a firm workout regimen soon.” Coulson began to explain. “You do seem like you require a large amount of food daily, so it’s best to be able to work what you eat off. And that will help you build back up fat and muscle in no time.” He smiled at him, “That way, you’ll be in shape again and you won’t have to worry about looking so sickly.”

Grant blinked and looked down to the food on his plate, still surprised that Coulson seemed to care so much about him. That did sound good actually looking healthy. And he did always dream about having muscle on him. “I guess.” he muttered. “I guess that sounds good.”

Coulson smiled, “Good. I’ll let the doctors examine you tomorrow just to make sure of what you really need.” he stated simply. “Hopefully, you’ll be back to health in no time at all.”

Skye turned towards him, causing him to blush once more, “Hey, and maybe I can help you with that!” she exclaimed, the loudness of her voice slightly startling Grant. He hated people yelling, even though he knew that Skye meant absolutely no harm at all. “There’s a gym here that we can use. I can show you around it if you like!”

Looking away from her and pushing the remaining food on his plate around with his fork, Grant shrugged. He really didn’t know how to feel about this. The other kids seemed a little distant and afraid to talk to him. But Skye… She was actually being extremely friendly with him and was actually wanting to help him. He never had someone like this before, so he didn’t know what to do. He shrugged once more, “I guess…” he muttered, not really wanting to talk.

“Great!” Skye exclaimed again, a beaming smile on her face as she turned to her food. She knew that Grant didn’t want to talk anymore, so she decided that it was best for her to back off for now. At least he did seem willing to have her help him with his workout routines. That actually made her really happy to think about. It seemed as though she was already breaking through to him.

At the sight of this, Coulson smiled at himself. He knew that Skye and Grant were already hitting it off. Grant truly needed a friend, and it seemed as though he was getting that through Skye. He knew that the two would more than likely immediately have something spark between them, and that had actually happened. Grant was actually making a friend.

_“Looks like bringing the kid here was a really good idea after all. Let’s just hope that it continues to get better from here. Maybe Grant can come back from whatever his family did to him.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am back! I was out of town from Monday to Friday and didn't feel like writing yesterday when I got home. But I'll try to be regular with this from now on since it's the summer! I hope you really enjoyed this chapter! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	6. And I Feel Like a Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's rage is finally shown.

(A Week and a Half Later)

Almost two weeks had passed since Grant had been brought to the facility, and everything kind of had been going smoothly. Grant still refused to talk to anyone. The only one he actually talked to other than Coulson was Skye, and that wasn’t much. He said a few words here and there to her, but he was otherwise silent.

Ever since Coulson had brought up the plan to try to get him back to health, Grant had all but thrown himself into that plan. The facility’s doctors had looked Grant over thoroughly. They had deduced that he needed at least six-thousand calories a day due to his heightened metabolism. Grant had been put on a high protein diet mixed with various fats to help build him back up to where he really should be. They estimated that the six foot boy should be at least one hundred and eighty pounds. He barely passed one hundred when he first come in.

Despite the short amount of time since he had started on the routine, Grant had already gained fifteen pounds of that. He was starting to fill out in his arms and legs, and just a little bit in his stomach. But he still had a long, long way to go before he got to where he truly needed to be. Grant was so determined to get there though. He just wanted to be heathy.

And even though his physical state was starting to get much better already, his mental state was a whole other story. In that part, he wasn’t better at all. It was like he refused to get better, even though he saw a therapist every day. He just believed that his mind couldn’t get better after all that he had been through. He was closed off from everyone else. He hated everyone else, all except for Skye and Coulson.

And to be honest, Skye and Coulson were the only ones that truly cared about him. The other kids just looked at him like he was an unknown factor to them. And truly, he really was an unknown factor. The SHIELD scientists that were in charge of Grant could not figure out how he got his powers. According to them, no one in his family had any records of showing any kind of powers. And they also had noted that his flames were unearthly. The fire at the Ward household had showed an unnatural amount of sulfur, not a substance normally found in earthly fires. But they could not figure out to what he was and where the flames came from.

Grant was truly the unknown factor in all of this.

And Grant just kept himself immersed in his own little world, which mainly just involved his books and his workouts in the gym. And maybe Skye and Coulson. But that was just about for him. He didn’t like a lot of things and most things tended to set him off into an unrelenting fury.

His protection against things that he didn’t like was just sheer rage. No one really knew why he truly raged, other than the fact that he was just completely traumatized by the past five years. Or maybe his was his powers. No one truly knew the true cause behind it.

And it was this day a week and a half later after his arrival when the extent of rage showed itself.

Grant was working at the punching bag with a steady rhythm when two of the facility’s agents walked into the gym. The facility was also a SHIELD base, the kids were just kept to a specialized sector. But there was only one gym in the entire base, so the kids had to share it with all the other agents.  The other kids had enough self-control built up to briefly socialize with the other agents, but Grant did not at all. Usually, Coulson helped to keep the gym clear of other people while Grant was in here, but Coulson was too busy today to make sure of things for Grant.

The two agents both approached behind Grant, both with sneers on their faces. They didn’t appreciate the fact that these kids pretty much got free reign of the base while they had to practically scrounge around to get by. So they decided to confront one of them, except they decided on the most volatile one there was in the base.

One of the agents smiled as he watched the scrawny Grant punch his way at the bag. He flashed a look towards his partner before looking back towards the kid, “Looks like no one really showed you how to punch, kid.” he sneered. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

Grant immediately froze up and spun around, fear etched onto his pale face as he saw the two much bigger agents looming over him. He backed up against the punching bag behind him, “W-What do you want?” he stammered.

“Aw, look, he’s practically pissing himself. How cute.” the first agent laughed. He had light, brown hair and huge muscles. Muscles that could snap Grant right in half. His lips curled into a small snarl, “You know, we don’t appreciate that kids like you get free run of this base.” he began, getting closer to Grant. “You really shouldn’t be here at all. Not one bit.”

Grant shook his head, pressing himself up against the bag, “I-I don’t understand… I-I was only brought here about two weeks ago. I’m just here for safety, that’s all. And help. T-That’s all.”

The second agent, just a bit smaller than the first and blonde, sneered as well, “Doesn’t matter. We don’t like that you’re brought in here and can do whatever you want. Especially since you’re one of those freaks.” he spat.

Grant’s stomach dropped and completely froze over right as the agent spat out ‘freak’. He didn’t like to be called that. Not one bit. Only because that’s what his family used to call him.“Don’t call me that.” he muttered, his voice practically void of life. A heavy glaze had set on his eyes.

The agent sneered again, casting a glance towards his partner, “What? Freak? You don’t like to be called that?” he asked mockingly. “That’s exactly what you are. You’re a damned freak! Freak!”

Grant felt something in his mind just snap as something akin to a growl ripped from his chest. He lunged towards the second agent and knocked him to the ground, “Don’t call me that!” he screeched. “Don’t call me that!” He started clawing at the agent’s face with his nails, his hands starting to glow with an unholy orange light. “Get away from me! Get away from me!”

The agent groaned and opened his eyes, looking straight up into blood-red orbs that had taken the place of Grant’s eyes. A nasty snarl had plastered itself onto the kid’s face. Now, he was holding down the much bigger agent. Just how was this scrawny kid this strong?

The agent struggled to try and throw this kid off of him, not sure of what wrath he had invoked.  “Yo, Len! Get this kid the hell off of me!” he screamed, not noticing that Grant’s hands were getting unnaturally hot against his skin. “What the hell, man?!”

“Get away from me! Get away from me!” Grant continued to screech, black smoke rising from his fingertips. “I don’t want you here! I don’t want you here!”

The other agent, Len, came up from behind him and pried him away from his partner, throwing the kid to the ground. He pulled his partner up and they began to back away from the seething kid.

The unholy red light in his eyes and the smoke rising from his fingertips gave the kid the appearance of a demon.  Just what was this kid? He slowly approached them, twitching his glowing fingers. “Get away from me.” he repeated. “Leave me alone. Leave me alone.” His voice was almost like some kind of ominous chant. It was almost like he was possessed or something.

The two agents exchanged nervous glances with one another before Len spoke up, “Just what the hell are you?” he croaked. “You’re some kind of freaking monster.”

The kid’s red eyes widened and his snarl grew. His fingers twitched before he screamed and flung his hands out towards them, a massive blast of dark-red flame roaring out. Luckily, the two agents dropped to the ground in time and the flame roared over their heads and sailed into some exercise equipment across the room, catching them ablaze. The fire alarm rung out at the sense of the smoke rising from both Grant and the equipment. The sprinklers started to rain down in the room, drenching everything.

Grant screamed at them again and the two agents spun on their heels and ran out of the room. And he just remained there, standing motionless with flames pouring off of his hands and the nasty, red light shining in his eyes. There weren’t many thoughts being processed in his mind at the moment. He was just pure rage right now.

“Grant! Calm down, please!”

Grant mechanically looked up to see both Coulson and Skye running into the room. He registered the scared looks on their faces and that allowed him to snap out of it. He blinked a few times and the light died in his eyes, along with the fire blazing off of his hands. The now-smoldering fire in the corner of the room caught his attention alongside the rain of the sprinklers. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, his body shaking. He had completely lost it. He had almost killed two people.

His body grew numb as both Skye and Coulson kneeled down next to him, “I didn’t mean to.” he muttered. “They just showed up and… And they started making fun of me. No reason.” He didn’t even pay attention to the fact that Coulson had a hand on his shoulder. “I snapped. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to at all.”

“Grant, son, I know you didn’t. You were just trying to protect yourself, that’s all.” Coulson said softly. “They were the ones that weren’t supposed to be in here at all.  They were the ones making fun of you. You can’t help that you can’t control those powers. None of this is your fault. And besides, no one got hurt. We’re all good here.”

The glaze returned on Grant’s eyes and he began to sob, his body shaking violently. He felt like a monster because he had almost killed two people due to his uncontrollable rage. He wanted to die again. That’s all that he wanted. He just wanted to die.

Skye bit her lip as she watched the older boy cry. Her heart hurt for him. They had actually been developing a good friendship over the past week. She was the only one that Grant would really talk to other than Coulson or his therapist. She knew that he was hurting and broken. She swallowed, “Grant,” she began softly. “We’re not going to hurt you. Just say something, please. We’ll get you back to your room, okay?”

Coulson shook his head and looked towards Skye, “Skye, I don’t think Grant is going to come out of this for a few hours. He just needs to be taken back to his room and be given the time to rest. I don’t know what he’ll be like when he wakes up though. I haven’t seen this yet.” he explained.

“I just don’t want him to end up hurting himself.”

“Skye, I know that you do want him to be okay, but Grant’s a strange case. I don’t know what he’ll do after this at all. He’s already been marked as suicidal, I just don’t want this incident to make him worse.” Coulson continued, keeping his eyes on the sobbing boy. “Just treat him with kindness when he does come out of it though. Be gentle with him”

Skye nodded and looked back towards Grant. She gulped and slowly reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a slight squeeze. And to her surprise, Grant looked up and blinked at her through tear-filled eyes.

“Skye?” he croaked. “Skye?”

She smiled at him, “Yes, Grant, it’s me.” she said softly. “I’m right here. So is Coulson.” She gently scooted closer to him to show that she was there for him. She had never met a kid so damaged, so she was completely unsure of what to do. She just figured that he needed to be treated with gentle kindness.

He leaned up against her, his body still shaking with sobs, “I’m tired, Skye.” he whimpered. “I’m tired.”

Skye looked over to Coulson and the older man nodded, showing that he wanted to get Grant back to his room as soon as possible. She looked back to Grant, “Hey, we’re going to take you back to your room now, is that okay?” she whispered softly, letting him lean up against her. “Do you want that?”

Grant nodded numbly, “Sleep.” he muttered. “I wanna sleep.”

Skye nodded and helped Coulson pull the boy to his feet. She stood on his left side to help support him as she and Coulson walked him to his room, letting clean-up agents deal with the mess of a room that the gym now was. The walk was slow, but it seemed to calm the crying Grant down. They got him into his room and onto his bed, Grant immediately burying himself into his sheets and shutting himself off from Skye and Coulson.

Coulson sighed and pulled Skye out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him, “It’s best that we leave him alone and let him sleep as long as he likes.” he said in a quiet voice. “I don’t know what will happen after this. And I thought he was doing pretty well the past few days.”

“Will this be a normal thing for him?” Skye asked, looking at the closed door. “Will he do this a lot?”

Coulson shrugged, “I don’t know.  Grant’s got a massive rage problem stemming from the abuse he suffered through. There’s certain triggers that will set him off. I assume that those agents said something to him that perhaps his family used to say to him that completely set him off.” he explained. “We’ll just have to be careful around him, that’s all.”

Skye stared at Grant’s closed door, “Will he get better?” she asked. “I was actually thinking about getting him to watch a movie with me tomorrow just to let him rest. But now it looks like we won’t get that. Will he be okay?”

And to be honest, Coulson didn’t know the answer. He didn’t know how the boy would react to all of this or even if he would come out of it at all. He just hoped that he did. He wanted the boy to beat his demons, not succumb to them.

“God, I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so with this, this is how Grant and Skye's relationship starts to pick up. I will say that Skye will really try to help him after this, so that's how it truly starts. And this really does show the extent to just how much Grant was screwed over by his family. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	7. And You're Actually There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye proves to Grant that she truly does care for him.

(A Few Hours Later)

 

Coulson found Skye sitting right outside Grant’s room, her head leaned up against the wall behind her. The older man paused for a bit before approaching the girl, “Skye, what are you doing?” he asked quietly, kneeling down in front of her. “You know that he’s probably not going to come out of there for a while now.”

She shrugged and looked briefly to the closed door next to her, “I just thought I should at least keep watch out here, just in case those idiots try to come back and mess with him again.” she stated. “I don’t know.”

“Those ‘idiots’ are being reprehended by the higher-ups now, they’re going to be reassigned to a different base. The higher-ups don’t tolerate bullying on the kids here, especially one of Grant’s caliber.” Coulson began to explain, watching Skye’s expressions carefully. He remained silent for a moment as a thought popped into his head, “Skye,” he began. “Do you happen to like Grant?”

Skye looked up and a heavy blush began to form on her face, “W-What do you mean?” she stammered, clearly flustered by Coulson’s question. “I do see him as my friend. And I’m probably the only friend that he’s got. I-I don’t see what you’re talking about.”

Coulson smiled and placed a gentle hand on Skye’s knee, “Skye, you don’t have to lie or anything to me. I see what’s going on.” he said softly. “It’s obvious that you do like Grant, and not just in a friend way. You don’t have to hide it, it’s not like I’m going to get upset or anything about it.”

She looked down and avoided Coulson’s gaze, “Maybe… Maybe I do like him. I don’t know.” she muttered. “I know that we’ve only known each other for like only two weeks, but I do think that I like him.” She sighed and looked back up towards Coulson’s eyes, “I’m just worried for him. I didn’t know that he was  _ that  _ screwed-up from whatever happened to him. The way he raged and pretty much tried to kill those agents. I saw the tapes earlier, Coulson.

And then how he reacted when he calmed down, I know that he couldn’t help what had happened at all. It’s like he can’t control himself.” she continued. “I don’t even know what on Earth that was.”

Coulson took a breath, “I know that Grant will probably not like me telling you any of this, but I do think you need to know. You already know that he comes from a very messed-up home situation.” he began to explain. “But you don’t know just how bad off he was. Grant has been on SHIELD’s radar ever since he was ten, but we could never get to him. His family actually covered everything up to keep him absolutely hidden. 

His powers manifested when he was just ten, and his family turned on him and became extremely, extremely abusive and neglectful towards him. They thought he was some kind of monster and completely disowned him. He was thrown into the basement and locked away for five years. The only time someone ever came down there was just to beat on him and such. I think he said that his younger siblings tried to help, but they couldn’t do much.

Five years later, he finally broke. That’s how the house caught on fire and burnt to the ground. Grant ran away and hid himself for a month, trying to starve himself to death all because he had lost the will to live. That’s when I found him.

All of that is why he’s got numerous mental issues. He can’t cope with things well and the doctors that are in charge of him already believe that he may have a few developmental issues due to the abuse and trauma that he suffered for so long. He’s not going to act like your average fifteen year old boy.” Coulson paused a took a breath, “You’ve got to be understanding and patient with him, especially when he has one of his freak outs.” he continued. “Just remember, he can’t help any of what is going on. If anything, blame his family.”

Skye blinked, trying to soak in everything that Coulson had explained to her. She had no idea that Grant was this traumatized and damaged. It actually hurt her to listen to what Coulson had said. How could just a few humans be such monsters to a kid? Grant was just a kid, he didn’t deserve any of this. Grant wasn’t a monster at all, his family were the true monsters in this case.

“Will… Will he actually recover from this?” Skye asked quietly, not sure of what to say about any of it.

Coulson shook his head, “The trauma? Maybe. But there may be more physical issues with him, like I said. The doctors are still monitoring him, but they do believe that Grant may never act right. There’s no telling to how hard he was beat on for those five years. And that may have included some very hard blows to the head. A ten year old’s mind is still a developing one. So the doctors believe that that damage may have hindered him in some areas. You’ve already seen that he breaks down easily and really has no clue how to socialize. He may truly never act  quite his age because of this.” He took another breath, “I took him shopping for some clothes before I brought him here, I thought he was just excited because he hadn’t had that chance in a long time, but now I see what was really going on. He gets extremely excited about things, just like a little kid. He’s not going to act like a fifteen year old, because his brain never had the chance to really mature.”

Skye’s breath hitched, “I really didn’t notice that.” she stated. “I thought he was just extremely shy. And he seemed okay around me.”

“It probably only flares up in situations when he’s either excited or scared. When he’s actually calm, he may seem a little bit more normal. I don’t know.”

She looked towards the door, wanting to change the subject to something other than the damage Grant had suffered, “Do you think he’s up yet?” she asked meekly. 

Coulson sighed and stood to his feet, his eyes going towards the door, “Maybe, it’s been a few hours.” he replied. He looked back to Skye, “Maybe you would like to be the one to check on him? I think it’s best if he has someone like you to be with him right now. I’m just not the guy. And besides, I do think he likes you as well, so he’ll react okay.” He nodded towards the door, “Go ahead, I’ll be standing right here.”

Skye stood up with a slight nod of her head and slowly approached the door, not knowing how Grant was doing. She reached for the doorknob, but paused, “You really think this is okay?” she asked, not looking back to Coulson.

Coulson nodded, despite Skye not being able to see him do so, “Yes, I do believe you’ll be fine. He needs someone to talk to. Someone that can understand him better than a psychologist.”

“Uh, alright.” Skye muttered, slowly turning the doorknob and pushing the door open. As the door came open, she could see Grant sitting numbly in the middle of his bed, his eyes locked on the TV that sat on the top of his dresser. She quickly looked back to Coulson before going into the room and approaching the side of Grant’s bed.

“Uh, hey, Grant.” she said softly, not sure of what else to say to him.

After a few seconds Grant turned his head towards her slowly. He blinked at her a few times before replying, “Hey.” he replied quietly before turning his gaze back to the TV. Skye was surprised that he had actually said something.   
Skye took a breath and sat on the edge of his bed, “How are you feeling?” she asked, deciding really not to delve into what had happened.

Grant shrugged, “I’ve been better. Just tired. A little sick to my stomach.” It was clear that he didn’t want to mention what had happened at all. And it was better if it was kind of forgotten. The agents responsible had been given their justice and Grant couldn’t help what had happened at all. So it was best to forget.

Skye looked to the TV to see what Grant was watching. It was some cartoon that she couldn’t quite place the name of, but it seemed to be keeping Grant calm and busy. “What are you watching?” she asked softly.

He shrugged again, “I really don’t know, I just turned it on not too long ago.” His voice was wearied and low. “And I’m not really paying attention either, I just like the noise. It helps drown out my thoughts.”

She nodded slowly, not sure of what to say. She didn’t know if he really wanted to carry on a conversation or not. He was actually saying a whole lot more than she actually expected him to say. “Do you want me to go?” she asked him, watching as he kept his eyes on the screen. “I mean if you were enjoying your alone time, I can go.”

“No, stay.” he almost immediately said, not even taking his eyes off of the screen. He blinked and looked over to her, “I mean, it feels kind of nice having someone here that actually wants to be friendly with me. I’ve never had someone like that, and I don’t think that Coulson really counts in this case.” He sighed, “I’m just surprised that you’re in here after what happened. After I raged.”

“Look, Coulson already told me that you couldn’t help what happened, so I shouldn’t blame you or be scared of you because of it.” Skye stated, looking him in the eyes. “And besides, I’m really not afraid of your powers, because that would pretty much make me a hypocrite here. And I do want to be your friend.” She scooted all the way onto the bed and got next to him, and Grant didn’t care.

Grant blinked again and frowned, “I thought that we were already friends?” he asked. “Well, I’m not quite good at picking up on those kind of things, so I’m not sure.”

Skye was surprised that Grant had already picked up on the fact that they were pretty much already friends, considering that he hadn’t had a friend in a very long time. “Well, yeah, I guess we are.”

Grant nodded and looked away, “Good, because I don’t think that the others like me and you seem to be the only one that does.” he stated. “I was hoping that at least one person liked me.”

Did Grant have any idea that Skye actually had somewhat of a crush on him? And Coulson had said that Grant liked her as well, but what kind of like was that? Did the boy like her like how she liked him? It was kind of hard to say since Grant had a hard time expressing his emotions. 

“Of course I like you, Grant, you’re my friend. And friends are supposed to care for one another, right?”

Grant shrugged once more, “Well, I guess.” he stated simply. “I really don’t know because I haven’t had a friend in over five years, and those still weren’t really good friends.” He shook his head and looked back to the TV, “But, yeah, you can stay in here if you want to. Maybe we can find something to watch before Coulson comes in here trying to get me to eat something, even though I’m not hungry right now.”

Skye smiled at him, “Of course I’ll stay, Grant. I don’t think that you want to be left alone for a while. And I don’t have anywhere to go anyways.”

Grant briefly looked over and her and actually smiled. He actually smiled, even though it was a small one. It was hard to get him to smile, so any time he actually did was a big victory on anyone’s part. He didn’t say anything though, he just looked back at the TV.

With a sight nod, Skye looked around the bed and grabbed the blanket that was lying at the foot of the bed. She carefully took it and draped it around the both of them, figuring that Grant would probably like that. At the touch of the blanket on his shoulders, Grant turned his head to look at her again and gave her another smile.

“T-Thanks.” he stammered. “At least there’s two people that actually seem like they care for me.”

Skye smiled again, “Don’t worry, Grant, I do care for you.” she stated. “And… And I don’t think that that will change at all.”

“Uh, really?”

“Yep. That’s what I believe.”

Grant’s smile grew even bigger to the point where it was actually a toothy grin, something he hadn’t done in a long time. “Thanks.” he repeated before looking back to the TV.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, he actually had a sliver of hope for himself. And it was all thanks to Skye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a bit more insight to how messed up Grant's family was and what they did to him. And a clear sign that Skye and Grant's relationship is really sparking. So I hoped that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments? I really like to know what you really think!)


	8. But I am Hellbound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant asks Skye a question.

(A Few Days Later)

 

It took the next few days for Grant to actually feel a little better and to actually come out of his room. During that time, Coulson had to have Grant’s meals brought to his room and doctors check him out every now and then. The kid was okay as he could be physically, it was just all mentally. His psychologist said that he just had been triggered by what the two agents had said to him and that caused the boy to snap and rage. It was just all of his trauma, something that he couldn’t help at all. So Grant couldn’t really be blamed for his reactions, just because they were just that. Reactions. He couldn’t help the way that he reacted to things. He couldn’t help that he was completely damaged and broken by his family.

Grant would refuse to talk to anyone but Skye and Coulson. When he did come out of his room those few days later, he stayed away from the other kids. He usually stayed by Skye’s side. Now, Skye really didn’t mind that, but it did bother her some because she really couldn’t go around her other friends while Grant was with her. He absolutely hated the others. He was wary of them and completely distrusted them with no good reason other than fear. But Skye really couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t had anyone to trust for so long.

His psychologist tried to get him to try and talk to the others, but Grant would flat-out refuse and almost snap at him in response. Grant just didn’t want to get hurt by anyone else, that’s why he kept his circle restricted to just Skye and Coulson. And he just stayed either in his room or the gym, but Coulson was sure this time to have guards watching the door to ensure that no other agents went into the gym when Grant was in there.

Grant was insistent on trying to bulk up as fast as he could. He felt as though being thin meant that he was weak. And he hated to be weak, mainly because his family had drilled the mindset into his head that he was ‘weak’ and ‘pathetic’. Bulking up was his way of showing that he wasn’t what his family made him out to be. If only he could just show that he wasn’t a monster, but he still felt that he was one though.

That first day he came out of his room, he stayed in the gym all day. One good thing about his inhuman biology was that he didn’t tire out fast. He could go for a few hours straight before taking a break. That’s one reason to why the doctors that watched him believed that he could bulk up in just a matter of a few weeks, he could work out basically all day, every day. And Grant didn’t mind, he actually loved working out.

And Skye liked to watch him over the next few days in the gym, not just because she did find him attractive. She stayed in there to give him some company and talk to him if he wanted to do so. And she also did fit in some time to work out as well, but she wasn’t like Grant and couldn’t go for hours on end. She would just go for an hour or so and then just sit off to the side and talk to him. Grant loved it though, he loved that Skye was actually willing to stay by him for this long. He just wished that he had the courage to tell her that he actually liked her.

But did she feel the same way towards him though? Grant didn’t want to tell her that he liked her and then have her say that she didn’t feel that way towards him. He knew that that would make him feel like a major idiot in his case. But if she didn’t like him, then why was she now always with him? He really wasn’t that great on picking up on other’s emotions, but he knew that she had to feel some kind of way towards him. But again, he didn’t have the courage at all to actually go up to her and ask her. Maybe another time.

It was a few days after Grant came out of his room, which made it a little over a week and a half after the incident, when Grant did ask her something about their friendship though. It wasn’t anything too big, he just wanted to know why she was hanging out with him so much. He still had trouble processing the fact that he actually had someone that he could call a friend.

He stopped and sat down a pair of weights, turning towards Skye. She blinked at him, her eyes trailing his frame. The boy really had started to fill out. His arms and legs were no longer rail-thin and were starting to get a good bit of muscle on them His ribs were no longer showing like they had been and his stomach and chest areas were starting to get firm. The doctors really weren’t kidding when they said that Grant would bulk up fast. The amount of muscle that he had put on in the past three weeks was amazing, almost inhuman. 

“Skye?” he asked, trying to get her attention. He really wasn’t quite sure to why she was just staring at him, he didn’t understand that she was actually pretty much checking him out. 

Skye blinked again and looked up, a light blush on her tan cheeks, “Huh, what?” she asked, seeing that Grant had a confused look on his face. “Uh, yeah, Grant?”

Grant scratched at the hair on his chin, “Can I ask you something?” he questioned meekly. He really wasn’t sure of how to ask this.

“Uh, yeah. I guess you can ask me anything.”

“I was wondering why you actually stick around me.” Grant began, walking over to the bench that she was sitting on and sat down a few feet away from her. “I know that it’s probably a silly question, but I have a hard time understanding to why someone would actually  _ want  _ to be around me.”

Skye’s breath hitched in her chest. Just how would she answer this for him? She didn’t want to come right out and say that she had a crush on him. That would probably only do nothing but freak him out. She needed to say something that wouldn’t freak him out. “You’re my friend, Grant.” she answered, turning to look at him. “And friends are supposed to care for one another. I’ve told you that. I just wanna make sure that you’re not lonely. That’s all.”

Grant blinked and looked away, “Yeah, it’s just that I have a hard time believing that someone actually likes me. I spent a long time believing that I was an absolute monster and everyone hated me. Why like someone like me?” he asked. 

“Well, one, you’re not a monster at all, Grant. Your powers are pretty normal here. You remember Josh? He controls the wind. Fire’s not all that freaky.” Skye answered, watching as Grant played with his hands. “And your rage, if that’s what you can call it, doesn’t make you a monster either, I think. I don’t think you can help that one bit. If anything, your family are the true monsters, not you.”

Grant looked up and scoffed, “Wise words for a thirteen year old girl.” he commented. 

Skye shrugged, “I guess that I’m wise beyond my years. I’ve been through a whole lot too, just not as much as you.” she stated. “I know a lot. And I know that you’re not a monster just because of a few things that you can’t help at all.”

He smiled and shook his head, “Skye, I spent five years being called a demon. And that’s what I actually believe myself to be.” he began to explain. “I’ve heard Coulson talking to the scientists that study my powers. I heard them say that there’s a massive amount of sulfur in my flames, something that isn’t found in normal, Earthly fire at all. It’s unnatural. They’ve even started calling it hellfire. Meaning they actually think what runs in my veins is the actual flames of hell.” He took a breath before continuing, “That just makes what my family said towards me the truth, that I’m a monster and a demon. It doesn’t make sense to me one bit, but I don’t know what else to believe. There’s no other explanation for what I am other than that I am a demon.”

Skye really wasn’t sure of what to say to him after that, but she did have to say something. “Well, if that’s the case, that really doesn’t change anything. I’m still your friend.” she stated softly. “I don’t see you being capable of monstrous things, you’re just too kindhearted and broken.”

Grant looked away and blushed, “Yeah, but you saw my rage. I can’t really remember what happened other than that those agents made me upset and I just snapped. Then you and Coulson were in the room with me.” he argued. “That was a monster.”

“Your rage isn’t you. It may be a part of you, but it isn’t who you are at all.” Skye pointed at him, “Who you are right now is who you truly are. The Grant without all the fear or the rage. I think this is the true you, and you’re not a monster at all.”

Running a hand through his sweat-slicked hair, Grant sighed and stood up, “I’m thankful that you think that way towards me, but it doesn’t change at all how I feel about myself, Skye.” he stated lowly. “Nothing ever will. You may like me, and I do like you too, but that can’t change what I see myself to be.” He turned and started out of the gym, “I can’t change what I am at all, Skye. Nothing can.” He grabbed his shirt from the floor and left the room, leaving Skye all by herself.

Skye stood to her feet and didn’t know what to do. Grant was still highly self-loathing and couldn’t learn that he wasn’t a monster. Everything had him believing that he was an actual demon. That may be true, but it didn’t cause her to see him in a different light at all. And one thing did stand out from his statement though. He did admit that he liked her. She really didn’t know in what terms that was, if he just liked her as a friend or if there was really something more there. She shook her head and started out of the room, she figure that she should tell Coulson of how Grant was doing.

She left the room and headed towards where Coulson’s office was at, which was right near the bedrooms. He liked to be near the kids so he could keep an eye on them. As she got nearer, she could hear what seemed to be Coulson yelling at someone. A string of curses and a slam was heard as she got to the open door. She looked in to see Coulson grumbling to himself, “Uh, sir, is everything okay?” she asked, coming into the room.

Coulson looked up and shook his head, “No, it’s not.” he stated sadly. 

Her heart skipped a few beats, “Is it about Grant?” she asked, worried that something was going on with him.

“Well, yes and no. It’s about his family. I’ve been trying to get charges pressed against them for what they put him through, but it seems like I can’t do that.” Coulson explained, sighing and plopping down into his chair.

“Uh, why?”

“Skye, Grant comes from a family of money and power. His father is a senator in Massachusetts. So they’ve used said money and power to cover everything up about Grant. They made up a story that he died in the fire almost two months ago so no one will investigate about him. They hated him that much.

And according to higher-ups here at SHIELD, it’s better that I don’t press charges against him because of Grant’s safety. They don’t want Grant outed in all of this and have his family come try and kill him or something like that. Or people will start asking questions to why a fifteen year old kid is in government custody like how he is. It’ll get his status as a gifted out in the open. And we still don’t know to what he truly is.”

Skye took a breath, “Grant did say that he heard that the scientists thought that he was a demon.” she stated. “He just told me that.”

Coulson sighed and ran his hands through his hair, “That was just a guess, mainly because they believe his fire is actually hellfire. They really don’t know that at all. It was just a guess. Grant really doesn’t need to believe that right now. I know that he’s doing a little better, but he doesn’t need to think something of himself that may actually not be true. We don’t know that for a fact yet.”

“Well, he does think it.” Skye repeated. “He sees himself in a bad light.”

“That’s something that won’t go away for a while. He’s still really bad off. He just seems okay when he’s around us. If he’s left alone or happens to be with someone else, then that’s when his developmental issues start to come through.” Coulson began to explain. “He can’t really socialize and has trouble reading other’s emotions. He ends up saying the wrong things, that’s one reason to why he stays to us or himself. So it’s better that he hangs out with you for a while until this can be sorted out.” He sighed, “It’s a long road until Grant can actually be of a normal mental capacity. His family really screwed him up and there’s nothing I can do to get back at him. I can’t even have charges pressed against them. Skye, don’t tell Grant at all that I’ve been doing this, I don’t know how he’ll take it.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Skye replied, shaking her head. “And don’t worry, I think he went to go take a shower right now. He’ll be asleep by the time I find him.”

Coulson smiled, “Good.” he said simply. “Now, you go get cleaned up. I can smell you from here, Skye.”

“Ugh, fine.” Skye groaned, turning around. “Whatever. And besides, you’re not my dad!” she yelled, leaving the room.

“Well, I’m pretty much your dad!” she heard Coulson yell back as she walked down the hall. Well, that was true. Coulson had been the one to find her and look after her ever since she got her. He was pretty much her dad and was pretty much Grant’s as well. Grant just didn’t know that yet. Grant didn’t know a lot of things.

And even though Coulson had told her to take a shower, she really didn’t care about that. She could do that later when she had more time. 

She just wanted to go find Grant again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was kind of a lot for one chapter, but I hope that it made plenty of sense. Skye finds out Grant's possible origins and that he does like her. And Coulson's been trying to get the Ward family charged for child abuse, but find that he can't at all. So some good things and bad things. I hoped that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	9. I Don't Even Know the Word 'Normal' Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant ends up having another breakdown.

(Two Days Later)

Skye hadn’t seen Grant all day, and it was really starting to worry her. He had been doing pretty well the past two days, and even actually had started to talk to the other kids just a bit. And by a bit, that really meant a bit. He would only talk for a few minutes before retreating back to the safety of his room. He found absolute solace in his books and his TV.

When Grant wasn’t working out, he was either reading a book or watching TV. He liked activities that didn’t involve other people or talking. Usually, a book was his best route since he could do that in absolute silence. He read so much that Coulson had to go every few days to go get the boy another book or two. Coulson didn’t mind though since it kept Grant calm and grounded.

Grant still refused to work with his powers and talked about his family very rarely, even though his psychologist pressured him to try to do both to help him move on from things. He just didn’t like the concept of either thing. Coulson had worked with a gifted before that had to release his powers every now and then to keep things stable, he was afraid that Grant was just like that. He was afraid if the kid didn’t use his powers soon, that they would burst out like they did with the house fire. But Coulson knew that bringing that point up would be a very sore subject with Grant though. He didn’t know to how the boy would react to that.

And Skye always made sure to keep an eye on Grant. Even if she wasn’t around him, she made sure to check in on him every so often to see if he was okay. Most of the time, he was either in the gym or his room, so it really wasn’t all that hard to find him. She hadn’t seen him since last night, but she figured that he was just hiding out in his room again for some reason. So that’s the first place she decided to check.

As soon as Skye reached his closed door, she paused once she heard the TV going on. And it didn’t sound like Grant was watching one of the cartoons he liked, it almost sounded like a news report. Grant really didn’t watch the news, she already knew that. Skye’s breath hitched as she stood close to the door to listen to whatever it was that Grant was watching so she didn’t have to intrude on him.

 _“It’s been a little over two months since the house fire that destroyed Massachusetts senator Richard Ward’s home.”_ the news report began. This caused Skye to freeze up, Grant was watching something about the fire. Why would he be watching something about the very thing that he claimed ruined everything for him?

_“Reports say that the fire was an arson, set by Ward’s very own son, Grant. Grant was the second child out of four children. Senator Ward says that Grant was very sickly and also was a troubled child. He was said to have numerous issues due to his sickly nature that caused him to be destructive and sometimes outright abusive to his siblings. Grant is believed to set the fire out of anger at his parents for some reason and didn’t escape the flames. His body was never found…”_

Skye made her way quickly into the room, knowing that Grant shouldn’t be watching any of this crap. She knew that this was all lies. She shoved past him and turned the TV off, turning to look at him with a scowl.

“I was watching that.” Grant stated in a dead-toned voice. “You can’t just come in here and turn off what I was watching.”

She crossed her arms and tried her best to look intimidating to Grant, despite him towering over her, “And I know for a fact that you hate anything to do with your family, so why the hell are you watching that crap?” she asked sternly. “The last time I asked you something about your family, you froze up and wouldn’t talk.” She pointed to the TV, “So why were you watching that?”

His throat grew dry and he shrugged, sitting down on the edge of his bed, “I dunno.” he mumbled. “It was on and I kind of wanted to see what crap they spun to make it seem like they were innocent in everything.” He nodded towards the TV, “All of that was crap. I wasn’t ‘sickly’ or ‘troubled’. I didn’t set the fire on purpose. Okay, maybe I was a little sick there towards the end, but that was their damn fault. They hardly even fed me anything when I needed like six thousand calories a damn day!” Grant’s voice took an angry tone to it and Skye had never seen such malice in a kid’s eyes.

“They spit out the lie that I was killed in the fire so they didn’t have to deal with me anymore. That’s how much they hated me.” Grant continued, sadness seeping into his voice as he looked down. “Once my powers flared to life, they stopped regarding me as a human being. They saw me lesser than my younger brother’s hamster, which I’m pretty sure got much better treatment than what I got. They beat me, they starved me. They were just too afraid to go ahead and kill me. That should’ve happened five years ago. I should be dead right now.”

Skye bit her lip and stepped forward, “You know that that’s not the truth at all.” she stated firmly. “No one like you ‘should’ be dead at all. There’s probably a reason to why you’re still alive.”

“What? So I can suffer some more?” Grant almost bit back, standing to his feet and towering over her once again. “So I can wake up screaming every night from a nightmare that sends me into a bad panic? So I can scream at others and even attack them if I get upset? So I can live my life knowing that I’m some kind of monster that shouldn’t exist in this life? Face the damned facts, _Skye,_ I deserve to be killed and dumped off somewhere where I’ll be forgotten in a matter of time.”

“What happened to you?!” Skye exclaimed, trying to keep herself from flat-out screaming at him. She hated it when he started acting this way about himself, even though it truly wasn’t something that he could help. “You were fine and laughing just yesterday, now you’re wanting to die!”

“Maybe that’s because life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for me!” Grant snapped, almost baring his teeth at the girl. “I know that you were an orphan and you don’t even know your parents, but you had it a hell of a lot better than me! Do you know how much I would love to forget my family and just leave them behind? I would give anything for that to happen.” He took a breath and stared at her, grief replacing the rage that was shining in his whiskey-brown eyes, “You don’t know what it’s like to be beat almost every day just because your family thought that you were just a punching bag to take out their frustrations on. You don’t know what it’s like to be me.”

“No, I don’t.” Skye began, walking up and reaching her hands out towards his shoulders. Grant froze up as her soft hands rested on him and pushed him down to sit on the edge of the bed. She sighed and sat down right next to him, “I don’t know that at all, Grant.” she continued softly. “I know that you’ve been through a lot and I couldn’t even begin to comprehend what goes on inside that big head of yours. But I don’t like it when you get like this, Grant. Not at all. You were smiling and laughing just yesterday.” She pointed at the TV, “That’s why you don’t need to see stuff like that. If anything, it’s probably best that you do try to forget them and move on to better things.”

Grant looked down and away from her, tears starting to build up in his dulled-out eyes, “It’s so hard to. I lived for five years like that. I can’t forget five years of my life. I was only ten when it all started, Skye. I didn’t grow up like someone should. I didn’t get the care that a normal kid gets. At least you got it with those nuns at the orphanage that you grew up at, at least they did take care of you. I got none of that.

I already heard my doctors saying that I would never act right because of what happened to me, that I had some kind of damage and it messed me up for good.” he continued, his body starting to shake. He knew a panic attack was coming on. “That since I didn’t have the proper care or whatever for five years I had, uh, developmental issues or something.” He looked up at her and the sadness had morphed his face into that of a child’s. He was so upset with what was wrong with him. He knew that he would never function right all because his family hated him and treated him like dirt. “Powers or not, I’ll never be normal.”

Skye watched quietly as Grant wrapped his arms around himself and a glaze started to form over his eyes. He was starting to shut down and she knew that she or even Coulson wouldn’t get anything else out of him for the rest of the day or more. Coulson would be beyond lucky just to get the boy to eat a little something. And she really didn’t know what to say to him now. She didn’t want to accidently set him off and invoke his wrath. But just looking at him now, he seemed like a small child and not a fifteen year old boy. He was so scared of himself and so upset that he would never get to live a normal life all because of his hellish family.

“Grant,” she began, hoping that she could keep him from slipping away into whatever world he went into during these episodes of his. But it truly was no use at all.

He slunk down to the bed, almost immediately curling into a fetal position, “Get away from me, Skye. I don’t want you here. I don’t want anyone here.” he mumbled, tightly wrapping his arms around himself again. “No one. No one.”

There was a visible shake to his body and Skye could hear muffled sobs coming from him. It was such a sad sight to see the boy like this, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help the tears that came. It was his mind’s way of trying to cope with the immense trauma that he had been through. At least this was better than him raging though. Nothing would get destroyed in this.

And Skye knew to just leave him alone as he cried. Grant would eventually just fall asleep and would sleep it off. Coulson would just have to be the one to come check on him whenever it was deemed safe to. Grant would be quick to snap in this state, so it had to be a few hours before someone came to check on him.

With a sigh, Skye stood up and grabbed the blanket that lay on the end of Grant’s bed and carefully covered Grant up with it. She really didn’t know what to do in this case other than give him the space that he needed. Perhaps the blanket would somehow show him that she still cared for him, but she really didn’t know. She began out of the room and paused at the door. She turned to look at his crying form.

“I’m really sorry, Grant. I didn’t know that it was this bad.” she whispered, turning and leaving the room.

“I really didn’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this really does go to show just how quickly Grant's temperament can change due to what happened to him. But he can't help it at all. He can't help that he had a crappy family. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	10. I Lift My Eyes Towards Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant cannot catch a break.

Three weeks had passed since Grant’s mental breakdown right in front of Skye and no one had even mentioned it. Grant didn’t say a word about it to Skye once he had finally come out of his room a day later, and Skye didn’t say anything either in respect for him. She decided that it was best that nothing was said about it, mainly because she didn’t know to how he would respond if she did bring it back up.

Grant had only been here about a month and a half and Skye already knew a lot of things about him. He liked to be alone, he hated socialization with others (mainly because he had no clue how to do so). He hated feeling weak, and Skye assumed that that was due to something with his family. He liked to read and watch TV. And the only person he truly liked and cared for was her. Skye could go on about the things that she knew about him, there was just too many little things for her to list.

But most of all, Grant liked to be distracted. As long as he was busy with something, he was okay. It was when he had nothing to do that his issues started to come to the surface. Coulson made sure to keep the kid busy with something to ensure that nothing bad happened. Whether that be working out in the gym, watching TV, reading, or being with Skye, Grant had to be pretty much constantly doing something. He hated boredom.

The only thing that worried Coulson was that Grant absolutely refused to work with his powers. Coulson had a hunch that Grant needed to use them every now and then in order to release them. He was afraid that Grant’s powers would build up too much and would either come out intentionally or would burst out the next time he raged. Things that Coulson needed to prevent.

He knew that it was time to try and confront Grant about his powers, but Coulson really didn’t know to how the boy would react to that. Just a mere mention of them sent Grant into a trauma-induced panic. He was honestly scared to death of them, so there was really no way to go nicely about them. Coulson would just have to get right to the point with Grant. If he didn’t work with his powers, there could be another potential incident.

Coulson just didn’t know what he was getting himself into at all.

It was sometime after lunch when Coulson did decide to talk to Grant about what was going on. He decided to tell Skye about the plan first so she would know what was going on. He had brought her into his office in order to explain everything to her.

Coulson sighed and looked at the young Skye as she stood awkwardly in front of his desk. He decided to get right to the point before she started asking any questions about what was going on, “I’m going to go try and talk to Grant about his powers.” he began. “I’m worried about him.”

Skye frowned, “Wait, doesn’t he hate anything about his powers?” she questioned, crossing her arms. “He refuses to work with them, let alone talk about them. I don’t think that that’s a good idea at all.”

“Look, Skye, I’m afraid Grant is a gifted that has to use his powers. If he does, they build up to a dangerous point to where they can either take control of him or the next time he rages they come out in a dangerous way.” Coulson explained. “I’ve got to get him to try and do something with them. It doesn’t have to be all that much, but he’s got to do something.” He swallowed a lump that had formed within his throat, “Grant’s a good kid, but you’ve seen how he acts when something upsets him. And if that turns to rage, he loses control. If he can’t control his powers, then someone is going to get hurt or killed. That needs to be prevented.

And we still don’t know what he is. His blood isn’t human, but it’s not like yours. So he’s different from what you are, Skye. We don’t know to why or how he was born like the way he is. He’s not human at all, but he don’t know what he is. He’s an unknown factor in everything. So we don’t know the extent of his powers. He needs to show us that so we know what he can truly do.”

Skye blinked, taking everything in. She really wasn’t sure of what to think about Coulson’s plan. On one hand, it was a horrible idea that could possibly send Grant into a massive rage. And on the other, it was a good idea. Grant did need to work with his powers before something bad could happen. And Coulson was right, no one had any idea to what Grant really was. Even though she did laugh at the idea that he really was some kind of demon, it really wasn’t an insane idea.

“And… And what do you do if he snaps against you?” she asked in a quiet voice. “He may look harmless, but he does pack a punch if he’s mad.”

“I-I don’t know that.” Coulson’s voice was full of fear and it was clear he really didn’t like his idea, but he had to do it before something bad could happen. “Skye, I know you do like him. But sometimes you just need to let things happen.”

Skye blushed at Coulson’s comment. Yes, she  _ did  _ like him. And especially a lot more lately since Grant was really starting to bulk up. In the past several weeks, Grant had gained way over fifty pounds of muscle and fat. To most, that seemed crazy, but his inhuman biology allowed him to do so. He was no longer just skin and bone. His chest had become firm and his arms and legs were really getting cut. Skye could swear that he was getting the outline of abs, but maybe that was just her eyes playing tricks on her. She really didn’t know, but Grant was really no longer the scrawny kid he was when he had arrived. 

But even though he had healed greatly in body, there had been no process in his mental healing at all. Skye tried to help him in the ways that his therapist couldn’t, but there wasn’t much luck. The only breakthrough was that he had a friend. One that he actually did have a crush on as well.  But there had been nothing else other than that. So Skye did worry about him. And not just because she had a thing for him.

“Look, I just don’t want him freaking out all because you say something to him about his powers.” Skye began to protest. “There’s no telling what that can do.”

“Yes, you are right about that, Skye.” Coulson replied, standing to his feet. “But, this is something that has to be done. That part of the base can be sealed off. So if something happens with him, we’ll just have to seal him in there until he calms down enough.” Coulson’s voice was full of grief for that statement. He really didn’t want to have to do that to the poor kid at all.

“But,”

“There’s no buts in this at all, Skye. I’m sorry. I just wanted to tell you what I was doing so you wouldn’t worry if something did happen.” Coulson interrupted. “I’m sorry, but I do have to do this. And alone at that. I don’t want you getting hurt. I’m truly sorry about whatever will happen.”

* * *

 

 

(Later)

 

Grant looked up as there was a knock at his door. He frowned as it opened and Coulson stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him. The boy stood up off of his bed as Coulson approached him, “Coulson?” he asked. “What do you want?”

“Grant,” Coulson began, standing a few feet away from him. “I just want to talk to you about something I find really important. I’m really worried about you.”

It felt as though Grant’s heart skipped several beats. He didn’t know what Coulson wanted and it truly scared him. “L-Like what?” he stammered, cautiously eying the man. “What do you want?”

Coulson took a sharp breath, “Grant, I’m worried about the fact that you refuse to work with your powers.” he began. “I’m afraid that that will end up causing a bad situation for you, son.”

And at that one statement, the color drained from Grant’s face and he started shaking his head. “N-No, it won’t, I promise.” he began to protest. “I don’t need to use them. No, not at all.” He started to sound like a little kid arguing about something. “They’re not useful.”

“Grant,” Coulson warned. “You don’t need this mindset at all. Powers like those cannot just be simply locked away for the rest of your life, you’ve got to learn how to use them. I’m afraid that if you continue to refuse training, something bad will happen because of their build-up. I’m not doing this to hurt you, son. I just want you to be healthy, and this is one of the steps. You’ve got to train your powers.”

“And maybe I don’t want to!” Grant snapped, a completely different tone that he just had. “Didn’t you think about what I wanted?!” A wrath-filled light had started to seep into his eyes, a mix of colors dancing in them. “Do you not understand they’re what ruined my life?! Maybe if they never had showed up, I would’ve had a somewhat-decent childhood! I don’t want to use them and that’s what I want!”

Grant’s sudden change in tone startled Coulson and the man had carefully stepped away from him. Skye had been right about the idea causing Grant to snap towards him, but Coulson had no idea that he would’ve done so so easily like this. There was really no telling what would happen next.

“If I don’t want to use them, then I won’t ever use them.” Grant growled, stepping towards Coulson as though he was his prey. His lips curled into a snarl and there was an eerie light starting to shine from his fingertips. “You don’t tell me what to do. You’re not my father. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have one at all. Stop trying to force to do things that I clearly don’t want to do.” The light was now spreading up his hands. “I don’t listen to you. I don’t listen to anyone.”

“Grant, snap out of this!” Coulson yelled, really not meaning to at all. “Calm down before you do something you regret!”

“Don’t yell at me!” he screeched, covering his ears with his glowing hands. He hated people yelling at him. Mainly because that’s what his family did when they came to beat on him. Any kind of yelling sent him into a frenzy. Loud voices were a no go with him. “Leave me alone! Stop yelling! Stop yelling!”

Coulson gulped, realizing that he had been yelling. “Grant, I,” he began.

“Stop talking!” Grant screamed, a red glare settling in his eyes. Coulson couldn’t believe to how little it had taken to set him off. He really didn’t meant to do this to the poor kid. He watched in fear as the orange glow continued up Grant’s arms. The boy’s body was shaking and Coulson didn’t know to whether it was from fear or from the force of the flames underneath his skin. 

“Grant,” Coulson said in a soft and quiet voice, knowing that a loud voice would further anger Grant. “Listen, to my voice. Just calm down, son. Look, you don’t have to do anything with those flames right now, okay? I’m not going to make you do anything. It was just a mere suggestion. I’m sorry for bringing it up, I really am. Please, just calm down for me.”

He was practically begging at this point, but he had a fear that Grant wouldn’t calm down. Grant would rage until those flames did show themselves. And he was just about at that point. Coulson knew that he had to run. He felt so bad for the boy, Grant couldn’t help what was going on.

“Maybe I don’t want to!” he screamed, flinging his hands out towards Coulson. And flames did come soaring out of them, barely missing Coulson and scorching the wall behind the man. “You don’t tell me what to do! I don’t listen to you! I don’t listen to no one!” Grant was stuck on that mindset, and nothing would get him out of it right now. “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!” 

His body shook with a violent spasm as pain wracked his body. He didn’t know what was going on, but he really wasn’t paying attention. His attitude was borderline vicious with Coulson, and he truly was about to hurt him. The orange glow had overtaken his entire body. Coulson had never seen such a sight. This was the moment that he truly questioned just what Grant really was. He did believe the demon theory in this moment.

Smoke was rising from the kid’s fingertips, his entire body glowed with an unholy, orange light, and his eyes were a blood red. It was clear that Grant Ward was not at all a human. 

“Get away.” he moaned, his anger suddenly gone. “Get away. Get away.”

Coulson froze up as he saw the boy’s body freeze up. He wasn’t sure of what was going on, but he knew only one thing: He had to run now. The man wasted no time at all bolting from Grant’s room and running at full speed down the hallway away from the room. Coulson was so scared for the boy, even though he was completely clueless of what was truly going on. 

The only thing heard through the blood rushing in Coulson’s ears was the sound of a small explosion coming right from Grant’s room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this, but I had Bible school at my church the past few nights and never felt like updating. But this is where Grant's powers finally get a strong hold on him. And it goes to show just how little it takes for the boy to be sent into a massive rage. It's just a matter of what happens next. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	11. Me in My Own Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's in a bad place.

Skye saw Coulson running towards her down the hall just as she heard the explosion and felt the ground rock underneath her feet. Sirens started to blare out all around her and SHIELD agents started running around like crazy trying to figure out what was going on. And Skye knew exactly what was going on, the very thing that she feared that would happen once Coulson got into Grant’s room:

Grant had lost control of himself.

She figured that Grant had really snapped once Coulson brought up him trying to use his powers. She knew that Grant absolutely hated his powers and thought them as a curse. Of course he would hate the mere idea of him trying to use them again. They were what ruined his life. 

Coulson came to a skidding stop next to Skye just as armed SHIELD agents went rushing past him towards Grant’s room. But they were only armed with tranquilizers to try and sedate the boy. They weren’t supposed to kill him, ‘cause everyone knew that Grant couldn’t help what was going on at all. The older man ran his hands through his hair and looked at Skye.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t of had told Grant that idea.” he breathed, fear completely lacing his voice. “He practically snapped at me immediately after me saying it. Dammit.” he spat, turning to face the wall of smoke that was coming their way. “I don’t know if they can stop him. We still don’t know what he’s truly capable while in his rages at all. Damn, should’ve kept my mouth shut and left the boy alone about that. Now I’ve set him off.” It was clear that Coulson was upset with his actions and truly regretted them. He had hurt Grant by pressuring him to try and use his powers. 

Skye could smell the growing and putrid odor of sulfur in the air, the main sign of Grant’s flames. It smelled absolutely horrible, she put her shirt sleeve over her nose to try and block out the nauseating odor. The wailing siren luckily was shut off, but she now could hear the crackling of the flames that were quickly heading up the hallway. If they weren’t stopped within the next few minutes, they would surely consume the entire base. And she could hear one more thing: A grief-filled wail. 

She swore that it was Grant, that he was violently crying. But she didn’t know to why he would be so upset, she thought that he would be raging after what Coulson had said to him. Unless he was just upset at the fact that he was destroying again. That his rage had been quickly replaced by the sorrow that gripped him daily. 

“Then what do we do?” Skye asked, keeping her eyes on the growing wall of dark, black smoke. “We can’t let him destroy the base, but I don’t want him getting hurt either. Can…” she trailed off for a bit. “Can he even be stopped?”

Coulson shrugged, remorse shining in his eyes, “I don’t know. No one’s figured out how to stop him yet. Like I said, we don’t know what he’s capable of. The sprinkler systems will extinguish the flames in no time. I suspect that part of the base to be a total loss. Luckily, it was just him in that section. I don’t think that anyone got hurt in the blast.” Weariness hung heavy in his voice, “It’s just a matter of calming him down.”

“I don’t think he’s angry, I think he’s just scared.” Skye commented, not looking at Coulson still. She was upset with him since he had gone ahead and confronted Grant about his powers even after she had said it was a really bad idea. “Yes, he was angry at first, but now he’s just afraid and confused.”

Coulson blinked, taken aback by Skye’s statement, “How do you figure this?” he asked, watching as the sprinkler system slowly started to extinguish the flames. “He was absolutely raging when he snapped.”

“I don’t know, it’s just a feeling I have. I think it’s the vibrations coming from him, you know that I can feel those. He feels scared and upset. The flames overtook him and know he doesn’t know how to get them to stop.” Skye explained, slowly taking a step towards the billowing smoke. “He’s basically trapped with nowhere to go.”

Surprised by Skye’s words (Coulson was still surprised by the fact that Skye acted a lot older than thirteen), Coulson took a breath, “Then he just needs to find a way out then.” he stated. “If the flames are stopped, then he won’t be scared anymore.”

“Exactly.” Skye said simply before suddenly dashing off towards where Grant supposively was. 

“Skye, where the hell are you going?!” Coulson demanded, going after her. “You’re just going to get hurt!”

Skye stopped and turned around, scowling at him, “I don’t think I’m going to get hurt. I just wanna help Grant!” she exclaimed. “And don’t you think that you’ve done enough damage today?”

Coulson blinked, surprised that Skye of all people was telling him off. But he did deserve it though. He had been stupid and reckless with confronting Grant when he didn’t need to. And most of all, he had hurt Grant and had set him off in a destructive rage. He was the one to blame for the damage to the base, not Grant. Coulson just stayed silent and looked shamefully to the ground as Skye spun back around and ran back off towards Grant.

Skye ran through the smoke, covering her nose again and closing her eyes to keep the smoke from stinging them. God, the sulfur-filled smoke was horrible, and there was no telling to what it was doing to her body. But she really didn’t care in the moment, she was completely focused on finding Grant and making sure that he was okay.

The sounds of sobbing grew louder and the grief-filled vibrations grew stronger. Skye knew that she was getting close to Grant, wherever he was in this smoke. She ran a little while longer before she reached a break into the smoke, and almost right into the flames. The flames surrounding the crouched form of Grant. He was almost curled-up into a fetal position, his body shaking with sobs. Skye was right, he was very, very scared. His flames took ahold of him and he didn’t know what to do at all.

She took a breath and slowly took a cautious step towards him, “Grant?” she called softly. “Are you okay?” She of course only got a response of sobs, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get his attention. She got as close to him as the flames allowed her to. The flames now had only surrounded Grant by like a foot radius. 

“Grant?” she called again, trying not to reach out towards him because of the flames. “Can you hear me? I’m not going to hurt you. No one’s going to hurt you. Coulson didn’t mean to hurt you either. He meant well, but really didn’t know what his idea would cause. You’re okay. You’re safe.”

Grant slowly started to look up at Skye, tears streaming down his face and a red light shining in his eyes. His body was shaky and fear was etched onto his face. “Won’t stop.” he whimpered, sounding like a scared, little kid instead of a now-muscular fifteen year old boy. “Won’t go away.”

By that, Skye knew that Grant couldn’t get a reign on his powers. He couldn’t get them to extinguish at all. His fear was controlling both him and the flames. That’s why they wouldn’t go away. He was just too scared. She had to help him calm down somehow. 

“Grant, you’re just scared. There’s no reason to be scared.” she continued softly. “You didn’t hurt anyone. The fire has already been contained I think. It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared, you’re okay.”

Grant continued to sob violently, clear that his fear wasn’t going away anytime soon. And the harder he cried, the more wild the flames reacted. It was as though they were an extension of him, like a limb of some sort. They responded to his emotions mainly. And as a violent sob racked his body, a rogue flame jumped out and sailed towards Skye. 

Skye’s eyes widened and she tried to dodge it, but it was too fast. She screamed out, preparing for a lot of pain, but it never came. The flame just merely brushed against her face, a wave of warmth along with it. Grant froze up as he saw it, afraid that he had hurt her. But they both had started to process the fact that the flame had done absolutely nothing to her at all.

Grant was actually the first one to speak, believe it or not, “S-Skye?” he stammered. “I-It didn’t hurt you?”

She blinked and touched her face, still processing that the flame hadn’t burned her at all. She ended up smiling, “Yeah, I’m fine, Grant. You… You didn’t hurt me one bit.”

Grant’s fear was soon replaced by disbelief, and the flames slowly started to dissipate as a result. He slowly sat up and just stared at Skye’s cheek, wondering just how she was actually immune to his flames. The very flames that destroyed everything else they ever touched. But they didn’t destroy Skye. They didn’t even singe her. 

He continued just to sit there and stare at her as she managed to scoot closer towards him. She got up right next to him, hoping that he wouldn’t mind at all, and carefully wrapped her arms around her the best she could. It was hard due to the fact that he was so much taller than her and he had really been packing on the muscle the past few weeks. She could sense that his heart was beating very rapidly and his breathing was shallow. He hiccupped with dry sobs every so often.  And he shifted her around so his arms were encompassing her instead of the other way around. He felt so much better for some reason when his arms were wrapped around her. 

They continued to sit there like that in silence for a while until footsteps caught Skye’s attention. She looked up to see Coulson, and only Coulson, slowly approaching them. Grant didn’t react, Skye thought that he had zoned-out once again and was pretty much unresponsive at this point. Coulson paused briefly as he saw Grant pretty much hanging onto Skye for dear life. He ran a hand down his face.

“Uh, how is he?” he asked quietly. 

Skye shrugged the best she could while in Grant’s grip, “I think he’s still scared. And he’s tired. I got him to calm down the best I could.” she replied softly, deciding not to mention her apparent immunity to Grant’s flames. “I think he’s okay.”

Coulson sighed and nodded slightly, “Good. Good. I guess he just needs to sleep for a while, that’s all. But he did destroy his room in the initial blast. Everything. His books, his TV, his clothes. I’m going to have to go buy him some new things after while. Just so he has something.” he explained. “And he’s going to have to be moved to a new room.”

“Where’s that?” 

He took another breath, “The one right next to yours. It was the only one available. I didn’t know how you would like that notion though, since he is prone to violent nightmares and bad panic attacks. I didn’t want that scaring you or anything.”

Skye shook her head, “No, that won’t scare me.” she stated. “That’s fine. And that’s probably better for him anyways. I think he’ll like being close to someone he already likes.”

Coulson nodded again, “Okay, alright.” he said, not sure of what to say. He honestly did expect Skye to agree with the notion, but it still took him by surprise just a little bit. Skye was just so nonchalant with anything that came up about Grant. He knew that she really liked him. “Help me get him to that room. Then I’ll go see about getting him some new stuff, alright?”

Skye nodded and slipped out of Grant’s arms, helping Coulson get the kid to his feet. Grant was definitely out of it and it took everything Skye and Coulson had to help him walk down the burned hallway towards the section where the new room was at. Skye knew that Grant would be devastated to know that he had lost all of his things. He would need a whole lot of help after this episode. And he did have it.

“Don’t worry, Grant. You’ll be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this went an entirely different route than the original plan took. The original was a little more dark and violent on Grant's part. Be glad that I went with this one. And a lot happened in this, but I hoped that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments? I'd really like to know what you think!)


	12. We've Gotta Get Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye talk some more.

I wasn’t until the next day when Skye spoke formally to Grant again. For some reason, he wasn’t as bad off this time as he was when he almost killed those two agents. Now, he was just scared. His fear of himself had come back in full force. He had been feeling pretty good for a while, but the incident of the day before had thrown that down the toilet. 

Grant had been moved into the new room and he was pretty upset about losing everything that he had. Even though Coulson was trying his best to replace most of the things, it still wasn’t the same for Grant. It only proved to him that he destroyed everything that he touched. He felt himself to be some kind of destroyer.

Skye found him sitting in the middle of his new bed, doing absolutely nothing other than staring at the blank TV screen. He normally always had the TV on in his old room, so Skye figured that something was wrong. She walked in quietly and gently shut the door behind her. Grant looked up at the sound of the door closing.

“Skye?” he asked, his voice merely a croak. “What are you doing in here?”

She smiled at him and sat down at the edge of his bed, turning so she could face him, “What?” she asked teasingly. “I can’t see how my friend is doing?” Her smile grew slightly, “You’re my best friend after all.”

Grant stiffened up and looked at her blankly, “Your  _ what _ ?” he asked, confusion lacing his voice. 

Once again, her smile grew even bigger, “You heard me. My best friend. Do you know what that even means?” she questioned. 

“Well, yeah, I do.” he stated meekly. “Everyone knows what that means. It’s just…. It’s just that I still find it really hard to believe that you’re my friend. Like I’ve said many times before, I’ve never had a friend. So trying to process that you call me your  _ best  _ friend is a little strange to me.” he explained, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. He still had a massive crush on her. 

“Well,” she began, poking him in his firm chest. She still found it really hard to believe that he had put on so much muscle in such a short time. “That is the truth and that won’t change. And besides, you’re about the only one that pays good attention to me. The others really don’t care about me ‘cause they find me a little weird.”

“Well, to be honest, you are kind of weird.” Grant admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “But that’s not a bad thing. I guess that’s what makes you you.”

Skye smiled, “You really think so? ‘Cause the others do look at me like I have a second head or somethin’.” she stated. “But, hey, I’m surprised that you’re good at complimenting others.”

“Uh, compliment? No, that was just a comment. Not a compliment.” he argued, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t compliment you.”

“You so did. You just complimented me!” Skye teased. “But that’s not bad. At least it shows that you’re good at saying good things about others. I thought that you weren’t able to see that in other people, considering you hate other people. Can you at least try seeing the good in yourself now?”

He shook his head, his face hardening, “What good is there to see, Skye?” he pressured. “You saw yesterday. That proved that I am nothing but bad. I flipped out over pretty much nothing and I could’ve very well destroyed the entire base if I wasn’t scared.” He took a sharp breath, “There’s nothing good in me, Skye. Not at all. I’m not even human. Everyone else believes me to be a demon and I honestly think that that’s completely true.”

“Grant, you couldn’t help what happened yesterday.” Skye began to argue softly. “Coulson asked you a very sensitive question about something you hate and you just snapped. You couldn’t prevent that.”

“Skye, I don’t even remember snapping. I just remember Coulson asking me that question and next thing I know, I’m in the middle of the hallway surrounded by my flames, scared out of my mind. There’s no memory of the events in between. I could’ve killed Coulson, you know. There was nothing stopping me from doing so. I don’t know why I was born this way, but I know it has a destructive purpose if all I’ve ever done is hurt people and destroy things.” He took a breath and looked Skye firmly in the eyes, “Skye, do you think that I’m a monster?” he asked. 

Skye shook her head almost immediately, “No, you’re not a monster at all, Grant. Not one bit. You’re just a gifted with powers that you can’t control quite yet and mental issues that you can’t blame yourself for, right? That doesn’t mean that you’re a monster. And besides, if I thought that you were a monster and didn’t think that of the others, that would be pretty hypocritical of myself. You’ve just got a few things that you’ve gotta iron out is all. But you aren’t a monster, Grant. I can promise you that.”

Grant briefly smiled at her and looked down to his hands, “You know, I never asked for this powers. I don’t want these powers. All they ever did is destroy my life.” he began to explain. “But I guess that they were just always hidden and drove my actions. I was what my family called a ‘trouble kid’. I got in fights at school and had one hell of a temper, and that was just before I was ten.” He paused slightly, “I even had a tendency to be drawn towards fire. My father always caught me playing with matches. He eventually started calling me a pyro. Guess he got his answer to why I was that way. 

But the flames were probably why I always had such an anger issue. I always lashed out at others. I even lashed out at Coulson. I don’t know why I haven’t lashed out at you yet, and we’ve known each other for almost two months. I guess that you’re just different then. I really don’t know.”

Skye blinked, trying to figure out just what to say. It was hard to take in the fact that Grant’s powers had always dragged him down, even when he couldn’t use them. She had never had any issues with her powers until the day of the accident, the day her body somehow changed and she got her powers. But it looked as though that Grant’s had always been there. She didn’t know how that was possible, but she really didn’t want to question it for Grant’s sake.

“Well, you don’t have to let them keep controlling you like that.” Skye stated, scooting closer to him. “I really don’t have any good advice to give you since your powers are totally different than mine. But I’m not gonna tell you that you’ve got to work with them right now. I think you’ve got to work on controlling that anger of yours first. That’s what gets you into trouble in the first place. You get angry at something someone says and you just snap and lose it.”

Grant blinked as Skye settled in right next to him, “I guess… I guess that you’re right.”

She smirked, “Of course I’m right. Skye’s always right.” she stated. “I’m never wrong.”

“That’s kind of arrogant of you, isn’t it?” Grant asked, looking down at her. He scooted slightly behind her so she was positioned right in front of him. He then started threading his fingers through her hair. To be honest, he really didn’t know why he liked doing this. It was just that Skye’s hair was so soft and it kind of helped to calm him down. And Skye didn’t mind, he was gentle and the movement of his warm fingers felt good against her scalp. And she didn’t find it weird either since she knew that Grant was her best friend. Best friends did weird things together, right?

“Grant?” she asked, ignoring his question.

“Hmmm?”

“I think we should go somewhere.”

Grant’s movements stopped slightly, “Go somewhere?” he asked. “Skye, we’re in a secret government base, I don’t think that we could just go somewhere that easily.”

“Coulson could probably take us somewhere. I don’t know, maybe like the mall or something since you’ve probably never been. And I think that you need some help picking out clothes that are not t-shirts.” she explained. 

Grant frowned and looked down to his shirt, “Hey, my shirts aren’t all that bad.” he stated. “I like them.”

Skye shook her head, “Still, you need a few better shirts. And a mall would be a good place for you to be around people. No one knows what you are and what you’re able to do. So they won’t say anything bad about you. And you’ll be with me. And we’ll be shopping, help take your mind off of things. How about it?”

He wasn’t too fond of the idea, but he really couldn’t say no to Skye. He thought it would actually hurt him to tell her no. And he figured that he probably needed to get some fresh air for a bit. So what could be the harm of it?

He shrugged, “I guess. As long as nothing happens, if you can promise me that. I’ve never been in an area with that many people before. It sounds claustrophobic.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be okay, Grant.” Skye smiled as he continued to thread his fingers through her hair. God, she loved this. 

“Uh, whatever you say, I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's so short, but my wrist is bothering me and it hurts to type. So this is all that I could handle. Sorry. But I do hope that you enjoyed! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	13. And I Hope You're There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson does take Grant and Skye to the mall.

(Two Days Later)

Coulson stood with his arms crossed and leaning up against his car right outside of the mall that Skye really wanted him to take her and Grant to, “Now, kids, I don’t want you in here for long. I trust that you’ll stay together, mainly because Grant doesn’t like to be alone.” he began to explain. He really didn’t like the idea of the two teens going into the mall alone, even though he was going to technically be in there too, just not with them. He knew that Skye would drag Grant somewhere once they got into the building. “Meet me back at the food court in two hours, that’s where we’ll grab something to eat then we’ll head back to the base. Alright?”

Skye took a brief look at Grant, who was looking down to the ground and scuffing his shoes against the dirt, “Yeah, hear you loud and clear.” she replied. “Be back at the food court in two.”

Coulson smiled and nodded, “And you two do have the money I gave you, right?” he asked. “I know that it isn’t much, but it should be enough to get you a few things.”

Skye shrugged, “I actually just wanted to get Grant some better shirts than what he wears.” she commented. “Maybe some flannels and some button-ups.”

“Maybe I like my t-shirts.” Grant grumbled, still looking to the ground. “They’re comfortable and don’t suffocate me. I don’t like things tight on me.” He didn’t mention the reason behind that dislike. With a shutter, he could remember a faint memory of his father trying to choke him in one of his drunken rages. Ever since then, he hated anything that felt too tight on him for some reason. But he wasn’t going to mention that right now.

“Well, we just won’t find something that is tight on you, Grant. Not all shirts are tight. Well, I think.” Skye explained to the frightened boy.  “We can find something nice that fits you well too. Especially with your muscular frame.” Once again, she still marveled at how much muscle he had put on in the past two months. But she figured that it may be hard to find him clothes for his age that fit well.

“Whatever.” Grant mumbled under his breath, turning around to look at the mall building. It kind of amazed him to just how big this place was. He couldn’t remember ever being in a mall since his parents kind of steered away from this kind of stuff. He was just glad that he was here with Skye and Coulson.

“Alright, get going, you two.” Coulson stated, walking up and placing a hand on their shoulders. “If you need me, I’ll be somewhere in here. Hopefully, everything will go okay today.” That translated to that Coulson didn’t want Grant freaking out in the middle of the mall and losing control. And he could see the fear brewing in the kid’s eyes, “Grant, are you sure you’re okay with this? You’ve made it clear time and time again that you hate other people.” he said softly. “There’s sure to be a hell of a lot of people in here. I don’t want you freaking out somehow.”

Grant tensed up underneath Coulson’s touch, despite it being gentle. To be honest, he was absolutely terrified of going in there. Even though Skye had told him several times that no one would know of what he was and what he could do, that didn’t erase his fear at all. One of his fears was that someone would make fun of the way he acted. He knew that he didn’t act right for his age, but he couldn’t help it. But he was terrified that someone would end up exploiting that somehow. Then there was always the fear of the flames somehow coming out. That his rage would get the best of him all over again.

He gulped, swallowing down that fear. He had to act brave, or Coulson would believe that he couldn’t even do this. That he couldn’t even go into a mall. He wanted to prove that he wasn’t as broken as everyone at SHIELD believed him to be. But he sometimes couldn’t believe that himself. He knew that he was broken. He knew that he would never be normal because of what had happened for those five years. His family had screwed him over and had screwed him up. And now he couldn’t even do the simplest of things, no matter how much he truly wanted to do them.

“I’ll be fine.” he lied, not looking back towards Coulson. “Skye’s with me, so I should be fine.” But he really wasn’t so sure of that. It didn’t matter if she was there or not, that fear was always there. That fear was always going to drive him down. Same with his demonic rage.

“Grant, are you sure?” Coulson asked softly. “Because if you aren’t, I can take you both back to the base. I don’t mind. I just don’t want something happening to you, that’s all.”

Grant began to walk forward, causing Coulson’s hand to slip off of his shoulder, “I told you, _I’m fine._ ” he hissed, not really meaning to. He just hated it when Coulson acted that way towards him, like he was a little kid that couldn’t do things. That he was too broken. It pissed him off and it didn’t matter that it was coming from Coulson. If Coulson kept going on like this, Grant was surely to snap at him again. And, no, it didn’t matter that they were in a public place at all. Grant would rage and there would be pure chaos.

Coulson blinked, slightly taken aback by Grant’s harsh tone. But he decided to remain quiet, he didn’t want to anger him again. He just nodded slightly, “Remember, in two hours.” was all he said before walking past them into the mall.

Skye frowned and looked towards Grant, “You didn’t have to be rude, Grant.” she stated simply. “Coulson’s just trying to help.”

“Yeah, but he needs to back off. He’s gotta stop acting like I can’t do anything by myself. I can do this.” Grant said harshly, turning to see Skye’s frown. “He’s treating me like a five year old.”

“Grant, he’s just acting that way because he cares about you too much. He just doesn’t want anything happening to you again, that’s all.”

“It pisses me off.” Grant growled, beginning towards the doors that went into the mall, Skye following him. “I know that I can’t do some things, but he acts like I’m completely unable to do a single thing. He acts like I’m completely broken. He needs to stop that.” He stopped and opened the door, letting Skye go in first.

“Just give him some time, Grant. He won’t act like that for long. He’s only acting that way because you’ve only been with us for two months and he found you almost dead.” Skye explained as they walked into the mall. “He’s just worried about you. That’ll clear up in a few months. Just give it time, please.”

Grant didn’t say another word for a while as they made their way into the food court. His chest tightened in anxiety as he noticed all of the people around them. Heat started to slightly rise to his fingertips in response and he tried to shake this off. No, that couldn’t happen here. That would get people killed. And he didn’t know to where Skye was leading him, so he just kind of fell in line with her steps and tried to let other thoughts run through his mind.

He remembered Coulson’s conversation with him this morning and all it entailed. Coulson had told him that a tutor would start meeting with him the next week to help with schooling since kids like him couldn’t go to school. Grant was only in the ninth grade, so he had three more years to finish up. But at least it was already May, so this school year was almost over. Grant didn’t understand why Coulson wanted him to have a tutor so late in the school year. But he just assumed it was for the three months he missed since the house fire. He didn’t care, he actually like learning.

Then there was the fact that Coulson had talked to him about the SHIELD Academy. He had said that would be a good place for Grant to go into because of his powers. Grant could train to become a SHIELD agent of all things. Even though Grant hated the idea of learning to use his powers, he did think the idea of being an agent was great. It would prove that he could be something more than what his family made him out to be. He could actually be a hero and not the monster they made him believe that he was.

But it would be a little over a year until Grant could actually get into the Academy. Usually, cadets who were ex-military or such were chosen, but Grant would be chosen because of his powers. Coulson had said it was a special program they had for the few gifteds they had. And that would allow Grant to get into the Academy at such a young age. There, he would receive the rest of his high school education, the proper training for what kind of agent he would want to be (Coulson had said that the specialist track would be best for him), and the proper training for his powers.

Coulson said it would be a hell of a lot on him, but he believed that Grant could do it one-hundred percent. He also said that he believed that he had the capability of being one of the best agents to go through SHIELD. It was just his mental problems hindering him, but he had a year to help cope with them. They just weren’t simply things that would go away. But Grant actually wanted to be an agent, he now strived for that. And he had a year to prove that he had what it takes to get into the Academy.

And the next thing that Coulson had mentioned was that Skye’s birthday was in two months and that he was trying to plan something for her. He wanted Grant to help do something nice for her And Grant did want to help, he was thinking about getting her a really nice gift. But he had two months to think about that.

“Grant?” Skye called, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Are you alright?”

Grant blinked and shook his head to clear his mind, he looked to see that they were standing outside some kind of store, “Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” he stated. “I just got kind of lost in my thoughts is all. Where are we?”

“Not sure what it is, but looks like a good store to try and find you some clothes in. Hopefully they’re not all that expensive and we can find you a few good things.” she explained, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the store.

Grant sighed as she pulled him around, stopping to look at various things. She stopped at a rack of flannels and picked one up for him to see, “How about this?” she asked.

“Isn’t it a little too warm for that?” he questioned, looking the shirt over. “It is May after all.”

“One, we’re in the North, so it doesn’t get that hot. Two, I thought you didn’t get hot or cold?”

He shrugged, “It really depends.” he stated, taking the shirt from Skye. “But no, I never get too hot or cold.” He felt the shirt between two fingers, “Seems like a nice shirt.”

Skye smiled at him and turned back to the rack. She picked out three other shirts of different colors, “And they’re on sale too, so it’s not all that expensive and we can go somewhere else to get you a few different things. And their sleeves can also be rolled up and can be short-sleeved. You’ll look nice in them.” She turned around and shoved the shirts into his arms and pointed over to a set of doors on the other side of the store, “There’s the dressing rooms, go try them on and see if they fit.”

“Can you walk over there with me?” he asked sheepishly. He didn’t want to go alone, despite there not being that many people inside of the store.

She took a sharp breath, “Fine, I’ll go with you.” she replied. “But I can’t go in with you.” To be honest, she did really want to go in with him so she could see him shirtless, but she wasn’t going to do that to him. They were nowhere close in their relationship for that. They were just best friends.

Grant smiled back and Skye began to lead him towards the dressing rooms. He really liked their friendship and hoped that it would never break. And he liked her a lot as well. But he didn’t have the courage to tell her that.  And not for a long time at that. But he did hope that whatever this was would last for a very long time.

As Skye stopped them right outside of a room door, he looked at her briefly. A few thoughts raced through his mind. She was the only true friend that he ever had. Hell, now he could actually call her his best friend, something that he thought that he would never have.

_“Please, Skye, don’t ever leave me. I don’t think that I could be alone again.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And sorry for the wait, but I had computer problems for a few days and couldn't write. But everything should be good now. So a few things are revealed here, the biggest being Grant already being asked about the Academy by Coulson and that Grant actually wants to become an agent. It's mainly him wanting to show that he's more than what his family tried to make him to be. I hope you enjoyed! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	14. I'm Not Superhuman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant expresses a dream to Skye.

(A Few Days Later)

Skye found Grant during one of his breaks between his tutoring sessions, seeing that he was scribbling away at some kind of math problem in a notebook. She stood behind him and looked over his shoulder, “What’cha doing?” she asked. She stifled a giggle when Grant jumped and dropped his pencil.

Grant sighed and turned around in his desk chair, looking at Skye with a deadened expression, “Algebra.” he stated simply, pointing at the paper. “It’s surprising how much I missed in three months. Apparently Coulson found my old tutor without alerting my parents and got everything from him that I had been taught for five years.” he began to explain. “According to him, I know everything in the Massachusetts state standards, just a little behind. It won’t take me long to finish everything needed to move onto tenth grade.”

“And what’s that?”

“Algebra, biology, world history, English, and beginning Spanish.” he replied. “But those are really easy, so again it won’t take me long to finish them. My tutor even said I could get the tenth grade stuff down in a matter of no time. I may work even through the summer to do so.” Grant didn’t say the reasoning behind that was so he would be ahead once he got into the Academy program next year. He hadn’t told her about his Academy plans just yet.

Skye went over and sat down on the edge of his bed, “Sounds like you’re just trying to study yourself to death.” she commented. “That’s not good.”

“And why aren’t you studying?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “Aren’t you finishing up eighth grade up or something?”

“Last month.” she replied, giving him a teasing smile. “I finished up early with that. So I’m good for a little while.” She watched as he returned to his notebook and began working at another problem. “I bet that’s all nothing for you, right? What kind of grades did you get?”

“Straight As.” he muttered, scratching at the algebra problem. He kind of wished that Skye would leave him alone just for a little while so he could get his homework done. But he was almost done with it, so it truly didn’t even matter.

“Well, I had a lot of trouble with English and history for some reason. And Spanish as well. Guess I’m not wired like you are.” Skye commented. “You’re just really smart.”

Grant finished up his last problem and turned to face Skye, “Are you saying that you’re not smart?” he questioned. “Yeah, maybe you’re not so great in a few areas, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t smart. Aren’t you like crazy good with computers or something?”

“Well, yeah.”

He smiled back at her, “Then you are smart. Books don’t mean everything, I guess. You’ve got your own special talent.”

Skye blushed and looked away as Grant put aside his classwork and returned to looking at her. The two remained in silence for a while before Grant decided to move to a completely different subject.

“Skye, do you think there’s a reason to why I was born the way I was?” he asked. “Do you think there’s a reason to why I was born with these powers?”

She blinked at him, startled by his sudden change in subject. She thought for a minute before responding to him, “Well, I’m not really sure of that. I sometimes ask myself that very same question. We’re still kids, Grant. So there’s no telling what’s in store for us.” she explained. “I don’t know why we were born this way at all.”

Grant took a sharp breath and ran his hands through his black hair, “You know, I’ve actually been trying to work with my powers since last week’s, um, episode I had. But… But it hurts to try.”

Skye frowned, “Hurts?” she asked. “Your powers actually hurt you?”

He shook his head, “It’s not a physical pain, more like mental. Every time I see the flames gather in my palms, it brings back really bad memories and it freaks me out. I have to put them out before they get out of control. I’ve tried every single day for the past week and I get the same result every single time. It’s like I can’t make any progress. My powers aren’t a gift, they’re a curse.”

“Grant, you just have to keep working with them. It took me a long time for me to get my powers under wraps and I’ve been here a couple of years.” Skye began to explain, watching as Grant scratched at the wispy hair on his chin. “It’ll take some time, especially since your powers are so, well, dangerous.”

“It’s not just my powers that are dangerous, _I’m_ dangerous, Skye. I have uncontrollable rage that can hardly even be stopped.” Grant sighed. “I find it hard to live with myself everyday due to what hides underneath my skin, and nothing changes that. I’m a monster and nothing can tell me otherwise, not even you.”

Skye began to open her mouth to respond, but decided it was best not to say anything about what Grant had said about himself. He was so set on believing himself to be a monster that nothing would change his mind about it. But Skye saw his reasoning behind it though. And she had to admit, she did think him a monster that time she saw him rage against those two agents. The way that the red light had shone in his eyes and the snarl that had etched itself onto his face had turned him into something other than a human being. There was no way that Grant Ward was human at all. But she wasn’t about to tell him that. She didn’t want him losing faith in her.

Grant took another breath and didn’t wait for her to say anything, “Skye, be honest with me. Do you believe what they say about me being a demon?” he asked, his eyes had turned big and pleading with her. He wanted the honest truth.

“Well, not in the name-calling sense at all.” Skye replied, giving him a soft smile as she did so. “But I don’t know how to argue with the scientist if they do believe you to be half-demon. Hell, they think I’m half-alien. But there’s really no other explanation to my weird DNA other than half-alien. You just have DNA that makes you not human, and apparently that somehow happens to be demonic DNA. I don’t know. But I don’t see the whole name-calling thing though.”

He nodded slowly, “I just don’t see how it’s possible at all. I swear that both my parents are human. There’s no way that either of them would, well, breed with someone that wasn’t human, they’re way too prideful. But the scientists are so set on me having DNA of a demon, and I don’t even know how they figure that. It’s just kind of hard to truly believe.” he explained. “It makes my head hurt just thinking about it.”

“Then don’t think about it.” Skye suggested, standing to her feet and looking down at him. “Just let your mind focus on other things. Focus on your schoolwork, not on whatever the hell it is that you are. Focus on things that actually make you happy. You like school, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then try to focus on that and try to finish it up. Is there anything else that you’re wanting to go after?”

Grant took another breath and nodded, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about the Academy.” he stated. He wasn’t going to tell her that for a while now, but he decided that maybe now was the best time.

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Really?” she questioned, crossing her arms. “The Academy?”

“Yep. Coulson came to me about it a few days ago, before we went to the mall. He said that I would be a perfect candidate for their gifted program they have. I would go the route of a specialist while finishing up my high school stuff.” he explained. “I would go next year and be there for four years or so. Coulson thinks that I could do it. It may be a lot, but it would definitely take my mind off of what’s bothering me. And there I would be able to fully work with my powers if I can manage it. Once I’m done, I would be one of SHIELD’s few gifted agents. Coulson thinks I may be along the best.”

“Coulson thinks that you could be _that_ good?” she asked. “That’s a big expectation to fill.”

“If he thinks I can do it, then apparently I can do it. And… And it would prove my parents wrong that I would amount to nothing. If I can become one of SHIELD’s top agents, that would give me something to rub in their faces, then maybe I would feel a little better about things. My biggest dream is to prove them all wrong.”

Skye smiled at him, “Well, I believe that you can do it too. Maybe, just maybe, you could become some kind of superhero. Then you really would prove them all wrong.”

“Nah, you would be the one more likely to be a superhero, not me.” he replied, blushing as he scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, come on! I totally see you being some kind of superhero clad in a black uniform!” Skye exclaimed. “And with some kind of cool name! Like Flameman!” She paused for a bit, “No, that’s too cheesy. Uh, Fire Guy? Oh, hell no.”

“Skye, I don’t think a kid with hellfire running through his veins can be a superhero,” Grant began.

“Hellfire! That’s it! You could be Hellfire!” Skye exclaimed, a big smile beaming on her face. “It’s super cool and super dark!”

“That doesn’t sound like any kind of superhero to me, Skye.” Grant stated, looking down at his hands and flexing them. He wasn’t going to admit it, but he did kind of like the name. “But you’ll be the superhero before me. I’ve got a long way to go.”

Skye smiled at him again, “Alright, whatever you say, but you’re still going to be Hellfire as long as I’m concerned. I’ll make sure that that’ll be your name. Or at least your SHIELD codename.” she explained.

“Whatever you say, _Quake._ ” Grant replied with a sly smile.

Skye’s smile fell, “Quake?”

“If you can give me a codename, then I’ll give you a codename.” he explained, standing to his feet and approaching her. “If I’m Hellfire, then you’re Quake. You make earthquakes happen, so it makes sense.”

“You know my powers aren’t technically earthquakes.”

“Seismic energy, whatever.” Grant reiterated, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “But you’re still Quake. That’s my codename for you. And you’ve gotta use it if you get to that point. I’ll use Hellfire if you use Quake, deal?”

Skye laughed and shook her head, “Fine, deal, whatever.” she sighed. “Can’t believe that we’re making deals like this.”

“You’re the one that brought up me being a superhero and gave me a name, so it’s only natural that I gave you a name too.”

“Whatever you say, hothead.” Skye looked up to the clock on Grant’s wall and looked back to him, who of which had a confused look on his face, “You wanna go grab some lunch in the kitchen?” she asked. “Then you can get back to your work or whatnot.”

Grant thought for a minute, running a hand through his hair again. He was hungry and he did have a lot of other classwork to finish before his tutor came to check up on him, so he guessed that it wouldn’t hurt for him to grab a bite to eat with Skye. “Sure, I guess. I need something to eat before I get busy again.”

Skye smiled and began to lead him out of the room, “Alright, _Hellfire_ , let’s go.”

“Shut up, _Quake._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And starting from here, there will be time jumps with each chapter. I'm trying to get to the point where Grant leaves for the Academy within a few chapters. Skye's birthday will be within a chapter or two. So I'm really trying to move things along. I hoped you enjoyed! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so? I'd like to know what you think!)


	15. And My Gift to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant gets Skye a birthday gift.

(A Couple of Weeks Later)

Grant looked up as a knock sounded at his door, he closed the notebook he was working in and turned to face the door. He temporarily frowned as Coulson walked in and closed the door behind him. “Sir?” Grant asked as the agent smiled at him. “Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, not at all, Grant.” Coulson replied, sticking his hands into his pockets. “There’s nothing wrong. I just wanted to bring up the fact again that Skye’s birthday is next week on the 2nd.” he began to explain. “I was wanting to know if you were thinking about getting her anything as a present so I can figure out a way to get whatever it is for her. I could probably take you somewhere to get it and we could pick up a card as well.”

“Well,” Grant, began picking at his jeans. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it, I just don’t know what to get her. It’s kind of hard to pick out one thing she really, really likes. And it’s not like I can physically get her a computer or anything like that. But, I do kind of want it to be something meaningful since she really has done a lot for me the past couple of months. And since she’s my only true friend. It’s gotta mean something.”

Coulson laughed slightly and smiled again at the boy, “I see where you’re coming from there, Grant. She’s really helped you in the while that you’ve been here.” The agent paused for a bit and twisted his lips in thought. “Well, how about some kind of jewelry? I think that she really likes that and that could mean a whole lot to her, especially since it’s coming from you. You could find her a nice necklace that doesn’t cost all that much. I’ll help you get it. It’ll probably mean a lot to her.”

Grant blinked and remained silent as he thought for a bit. After a while, he did eventually nod in response. “I guess that does sound nice. And I really don’t know what else to get her.” he replied. “At least it’s something that she can wear as well, so it won’t go to waste at all.”

“See? It does sound like a good idea after all, right?” Coulson asked with a warm smile on his face. “If we can get past Skye without her seeing us, I can take you somewhere in a few to find a necklace. The key to all of this is secrecy. It’s a present, so therefore it’s a surprise. So she can’t know anything about it until her birthday next week. Grant, can you keep a secret?” he asked, watching as the kid stood to his feet.

He shrugged, “I guess so. Never really had the chance to do so, sir.” he stated in response. “But I think I can. Well, I do need to be able to keep a secret if I’m to be an agent, right?”

Coulson nodded, “Yes, you do. You’ll be a spy after all. But consider this your first real test. Keep the secret of Skye’s present away for her until you give the gift to her next week. I’ll see how you’ll do. You tend to be kind of loose around Skye. I don’t want her catching onto what we’re doing and pressuring you into telling her what her gift is.

The true key to secrecy is to act like nothing is going on at all. You keep her gift such a big secret that it seems like you didn’t even get her a gift after all.” he continued to explain. “I know that it’s not a very big task. But it’ll give me a hint to how much you’re good at keeping a secret.”

“I’ll try my best, sir. But you know Skye’s pretty insistent on things. Even if she doesn’t know that I got her a present, she’ll still probably ask about it.” Grant argued, grabbing his jacket off the back of his desk chair. “Then if I show the slightest sign of knowing something, she’ll pester me into telling her. I know how she works.”

“Then keep a poker face.” Coulson suggested. “I know that you’re good at that. You act like nothing’s wrong all the time and your face surely shows for that. If she asks you anything about it, put on that mask and act like you don’t know a single thing. You hear me?”

Grant nodded, slipping on his jacket, “Yes, sir, I do.” he replied curtly.

Coulson smiled, “Good.” He turned and waved with a hand, “Come on, let’s try to go now, shall we? I think Skye may be in her room doing something at the moment. If we slip out right now, I think that we’ll be able to get out without her hearing or seeing us. You’re lucky that these rooms are soundproof to an extent. She didn’t hear any of this.”

“So we’re going now?”

“Yep. It’s good to go ahead and get this over with before she notices anything.” Coulson explained, opening the door and allowing Grant to go ahead out into the hallway. “It shouldn’t take us that long. Maybe an hour or two. We can get back and get it in a bag or something. But it’ll be up to you to hide it.”

Grant nodded again and followed Coulson down the hallways, “So what are you doing for her anyways?” he questioned. “Is it anything big? I haven’t been to a birthday party in years, so I kind of forget what goes on in one.”

“It’s nothing much. It’s just you and the other kids that are coming, and a few other agents that have helped her as well. So it’s not many. We’ll do cake and presents, not all that much.” Coulson stated. “And Skye’s fine with anything, as long as she gets cake and her friends are there. That’s all that matters for her.”

“Will… Will I get a party when it’s my birthday?” Grant meekly asked.

Without stopping, Coulson briefly looked at Grant, “Of course you will, Grant.” he said. “We’ll do something especially special for you since you haven’t had a party in a long time and it’ll be your sixteenth birthday. Don’t worry, you’ll get one. And I imagine that Skye will try to make it extremely special for you.”

Grant blushed slightly at the thought of Skye doing something special for him. But he had months until his birthday came. Right now, it was his time to make her birthday special. “Alright.”

“Come on, let’s hurry up and get her something.”

 

* * *

 

 

(An Hour Later)

Grant looked over the necklaces in front of him with close scrutiny. He wanted to choose the perfect one for Skye, one that really showed that he did care for her. They weren’t all that fancy. At the most, they were made of silver. Coulson was the one buying it and he didn’t have all that much money on him to be forking out a lot on a necklace.

He made Grant look at the nice silver ones, mainly because he wanted the necklace to be one that would last for a while and wouldn’t break. All of them had nondescript charms on them, just nice little designs that really didn’t mean anything. Even though Grant was so insistent on finding the right one, Coulson told him that it really didn’t matter what the charm on it looked like. It just had to be something that Skye would like.

He watched as the boy continued to stare down the necklaces, closely studying each one. And he silently hoped that no sales associate would come up to see if they needed help or not, he knew that that would completely freak Grant out. And Coulson didn’t need the kid flipping out on a store working over pretty much nothing. He just hoped that Grant would hurry up and pick out the necklace so they could get back before Skye started to get suspicious about their ‘disappearance’.

Grant continued to look over the necklaces for a few more minutes until he actually decided on two of them that he had to choose between. He turned to Coulson and showed him the two necklaces, “Which one looks better, sir?” he asked. “I don’t know which she would like more.”

Coulson sighed and looked between the two necklaces, truly seeing no difference between the two. The one in Grant’s right hand seemed to have some kind of stone embedded into the charm while the other one didn’t. He pointed at the stone one, “How about that one?” he suggested. “It’s got a nice, little stone in it. It’s got a bit more to it, so it’s a little nicer. And I think that Skye will like the fact that it’s shiny.”

The boy looked back to the necklace that Coulson had pointed to and nodded, seeing how it did shine in the light. He looked back up and smiled, “This one will do.” he stated firmly. “She’ll definitely like this one.”

The older man took the necklace from Grant and was surprised to see that it didn’t cost all that much, “Alright, I’ll go get this paid for and we’ll be out of here. We just have to stop by somewhere on the way back and pick her up a card. You’ll pick that out as well. Then we’ll go back to the base.”

“Okay.” Grant replied with a big smile on his face. Coulson had to admit, Grant had never looked so excited for something. The kid was pretty much ecstatic to be getting a gift for Skye. He wished that he was this happy more often.

“Alright, let’s get going then.”

 

* * *

 

(A Little While Later)  
 

Once Grant and Coulson got back to the base, Grant wasted no time rushing back to his room to hide Skye’s present. He ended up hiding it underneath his bed in a crack where she would never look. He didn’t want her finding it either, it was his task to keep it a secret from her. And Coulson had let him be after getting him back to the base, so Grant had some alone time.

Or so he thought.

Grant was laying on his bed a little while after hiding Skye’s gift when his door swung open. He looked up to see Skye walking in and sitting down in his desk chair, turning to face him with a smile.

“So, where were you and Coulson earlier?” she asked with a sly smirk.

He sat up and straightened up, keeping his face rock hard, “What?” he asked. “We just went out, that’s all. Just a little bit of real world socialization for me, or whatever the hell it was that he called it.” He shrugged, “I don’t know. He just wanted me to get out is all.”

“Then why didn’t he ask me to come with you?”

“I don’t know. I think he wanted me to try it with just him. Something about you making me a little too comfortable and he wanted to see how I was without you. Like I said, I don’t know.” he lied. He brought his legs into a crisscross position on his bed.

Skye raised an eyebrow and nodded skeptically, “Yeah, okay. So, how did it go?” she questioned, not exactly believing his story.

Grant shrugged, “Could’ve been better.” he began. “Too many people and I was on the verge of a panic attack the entire time. I didn’t like it at all. I don’t see why Coulson makes me do these things.”

“It’s because he wants you to get better, Grant.” Skye said, spinning around in the desk chair. “He wants you to overcome the things that you hate.”

“Whatever you say.” Grant stated. He was glad since it seemed that Skye was buying his story. He was actually pretty good at this lying thing. “But it’s not going to change a single thing. I hate people and I always will. That won’t change at all.”

Skye sighed, “Alright then, Grouch. Hey, you wanna watch TV or something?” she asked, changing the subject before she accidentally asked Grant something he didn’t like. She had no idea of the game that he was playing. “Unless you’ve got schoolwork or something.”

“I’m done for the day with that, so we can watch a little something.” He was relieved that Skye decided to stop with the questions. “Come on, you can sit next to me. I’ll find something.”

“Cool.” Skye stated, hopping off of the chair and making her way to Grant’s bed. She got up on it and sat down right next to him without another word.

And it made Grant blush. He always did when Skye got this close to him. He wished that he had the courage to tell her that he liked her, but he knew that it would be a while before he was able to do so. A good while.

 _“I really hope that she likes her gift. I wish I could actually give her more. But I don’t know how to do that right now. Not at all.”_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Skye's birthday will be next chapter. This was just mainly focusing on how much Grant does like her and wants to get her something special. Which I hoped that you enjoyed! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments? I like feedback!)


	16. And the Biggest Gift of All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye's birthday arrives!

Today was finally the day of Skye’s birthday, and Grant was probably the one most excited about it. There were only two reasons behind his excitement. One, he had never really been to a birthday party because of being locked up for five years. But even before that, no one ever really invited him to one because he truly wasn’t liked. No one wanted to invite the kid with a massive anger issue. And his siblings’ parties didn’t count.

And two, he finally got to give his present to Skye. He had worked so hard at keeping it a secret for the past week that Skye never even got suspicious of him one bit. Coulson was actually surprised at how good Grant was at lying, it actually kind of scared him. But that gave the older man a sign to just how well Grant would do in the Academy.

But, Grant was ecstatic for the party, even though it was hours away. The kid just couldn’t sit still no matter what. He tried to burn off some energy by working out in the gym. It worked a little, but it still didn’t help all that much. He even tried working with his powers a little, but that was no good. It almost sent him spiraling into a panic attack when he accidentally set a piece of exercise equipment on fire. His powers were a no go for a long time, even though they were something he had to get a handle on before he left for the Academy next year.

Grant didn’t know what to do until Skye’s party. It was now just two hours away and he had absolutely nothing to do. He had no schoolwork to do, there was nothing on TV, and he had finished reading all of his books. Boredom wasn’t a good thing for a kid that had fire running through his veins, he always had to be doing something to somehow burn that energy. He basically wandered the halls for a solid hour before Coulson found him and pulled him aside.

The older man had told him to go get cleaned up and try to look nice for the party. He just told him to go and wash the sweat off of him and to put on some of his better clothes. It was for Skye after all, so Grant really didn’t complain about it one bit.

Grant had rushed off back to his room and into his small bathroom. He had thrown his dirty clothes aside and had jumped into the shower, scrubbing off all of the sweat that had accumulated on him from the workout earlier and throughout the day. He gave his hair a quick wash and then jumped out of the shower. Wrapping his towel around his waist, he gave his appearance a quick study.

The hair on his chin hadn’t really grown at all in the past week or so. He didn’t know why it only stayed on his chin, he guessed it was because he was still only fifteen. He admired his muscular frame, still surprised that he had built up this much muscle on him in the past four months. He was no longer skin and bone. To him, this was the best he had looked in years.

With a small sigh, Grant went into his bedroom and to his closet, where he pulled out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and one of the button-up flannels that Skye had made him get last month. He slipped on a pair of underwear and put on his clothes. Then he put on his boots and laced them up, heading back to the bathroom afterwards.

He ran his hands through his wet hair and decided to slick it back with some gel he had. Taking a minute to look at himself once again in the mirror, Grant figured that this was the best he could do. It was just a birthday party, so he figured that he didn’t have to go all out for it. And he knew that Skye didn’t really care to what he looked like, he was just going by Coulson’s words anyways.

“Alright,” he muttered to himself, sitting on the edge of his bed and rolling his sleeves to just above his elbows. “I just have a little bit and then Coulson will come and get me, I guess. Better find Skye’s gift.” With a slight grunt, he slipped to the floor and got to his knees, reaching under his bed and feeling around for the package. He felt the glossy texture of the wrapping paper and pulled the small box out , carefully holding it in his hand as he stood to his feet.

He smiled softly to himself, looking at his handiwork on the wrapping job. Despite never wrapping a gift in his life, he did surprisingly well. It even surprised Coulson. He sighed and went to his desk, pulling out her card from underneath his schoolwork, Skye was never going to look in there.

Then he went back to sitting on the edge of his bed, gift and card in hand, until Coulson came a few minutes later to come get him.

And his smile had never been brighter.

* * *

 

 

(A Little While Later)

Grant sat uncomfortably in the chair right next to Skye at the table, kind of shrinking underneath the gazes of the other kids. He had temporarily forgotten in his excitement that he absolutely hated the other kids. He didn’t have anything to do with them and they always avoided him, he figured it was because of the incident just last month. He was the reason to why the base almost went up in flames.

Skye knew that he was scared of the others and turned to look at him, “You’ll be okay, Grant.” she whispered. “They’re not going to hurt you because you’re right next to me and it’s my birthday. And besides, Coulson will be in here shortly. Well, I hope he is. I want my damn cake.”

He stifled a laugh, “I think he’ll probably be here shortly. He’s probably finding somehow to light the candles.”

“You can’t light them?”

Grant shook his head, “Don’t have that much control yet. I’ll light up the entire cake instead of just the candles. And even if I could, the cake would end up smelling like sulfur. You don’t want that, do you?” he asked teasingly.

“Uh, no, I don’t. Forgot about that.” Skye commented, her eyes pretty much scanning his body. “And hey, you do look good.”

His throat suddenly grew dry and he rubbed at his neck, a very hot blush rising to his cheek, “Ah, ah, thanks.” he said, stumbling over his words. It was clear that he was extremely flustered. He couldn’t help that he liked Skye, he just had no clue how to express that towards her. But he knew that he wanted to say something before he left for the Academy. He had a little over a year left before that happened. Time was running out.

“And see, those shirts do work nicely for you. It’s a good thing you don’t get hot and you can wear those all the time.” she commented, smiling at him.

“I-I’ll take that as a compliment?” he stammered. “I,”

“Hey!”

Grant looked to see what had cut him off and saw Coulson standing in the doorway of the room, cake in hand with candles burning brightly. The older man nodded at all of them and suddenly everyone, but Grant, started singing Happy Birthday. Grant wasn’t sure of what to do, but he eventually started singing a bit right at the very end when Coulson sat the cake down right in front of Skye. And Grant smiled as Skye blew out the candles, sending white wisps of smoke into the air. And afterward everyone clapped, and unfortunately the loud noise of that spooked Grant a bit.

As Coulson pulled the cake aside to start cutting it for everyone, Skye noticed that Grant was suddenly scared, “Grant, what’s wrong?” she asked quietly, placing a hand on his arm.

“I-I don’t like loud noises.” he almost whimpered. “N-Not at all.” Even to this day, he didn’t know where that trauma came from. Perhaps it stemmed from his aversion to yelling. He wasn’t sure, he just knew that loud noises scared him. Something that he definitely needed to talk with his therapist about tomorrow.

“They were just clapping, no harm in that at all.” she whispered softy. “Nothing’s going on. It’s, well, customary for people to clap after the person blows out the candles. You’re okay, right?”

Grant nodded slightly, taking a sharp breath, “Yeah, I am.” he muttered. “I’m fine.”

Skye smiled back at him right as Coulson came up with plates of cake in his hands.

“Alright, who wants cake?!” the older man exclaimed cheerfully, passing out the first and biggest piece to Skye. All of the kids, even Grant, raised their hand. Coulson ended up passing out the next piece to Grant.

Grant began to pick at the cake, finding it a little too sweet for his tastes, but he ate it anyways. It was Skye’s birthday cake, he wasn’t about to show that he didn’t like it. He turned to face Skye, “Can we do something like this when it’s my birthday?” he asked meekly, sticking a bite of cake into his mouth.

“Of course!” Skye exclaimed. “We’ll give you a big one since you haven’t had one in a long time. And won’t you be sixteen as well?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Then it’ll be even bigger! That’s an important birthday after all. We can’t forget that! It’s January 7th, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we’ll surely do something! We always do something for New Years as well. And Christmas. So it’ll be a busy couple of weeks.” she explained, eating some cake. “But we’ve got a few months, it is only July.”

Grant laughed slightly to himself and smiled, “You’ve gotta stop worrying about me, Skye. It is your birthday after all. It’s your day, not mine.” he stated. “Now, just eat your cake and enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about me today.”

“It’s just that you haven’t had any of this in a long time.” she protested. “I want you to have the full experience.”

“Skye,” Grant began with a side, pushing his empty plate aside. “It is your birthday. I know that you’re my friend and all, but you’ve gotta stop worrying about me so much, alright?”

She smiled back and him and didn’t say another word as she finished up her cake. Grant sighed and sat there in silence as everyone else finished up. He looked around the table, eying the few presents that she got. They mainly came from the other kids, but there was one from Coulson and a few from the agents that helped out with the kids. It wasn’t quite what Grant imagined Skye getting, but it was still more than he would’ve ever gotten with his parents.

He would’ve just gotten like one thing and a pat on the back. And that was just before the incident. Then he got nothing but scars and bruises for five years. Not ideally the best birthday present in the world. There was surely at least one or two birthdays they had beaten him on. He tried not to remember that.

And he was lost in thought so much that he didn’t notice Coulson announce that it was time for Skye to open presents, Skye actually had to shake him out of it and tell him so. She didn’t ask what he had been thinking about. She knew that it was probably something that would make her sick to her stomach.

Coulson leaned down towards Skye, “Skye,” he began. “You may want to open Grant’s first. He’s been dying for the past week to give it to you. Wait any longer and he may actually combust.” He shot a smile towards Grant, showing that he meant that as a joke. Grant had a hard time knowing what was a joke and what wasn’t.

Skye nodded and turned towards Grant, “Alright, which one is yours?” she asked, nodding towards the small pile of presents.

“Ah, uh, this one.” Grant stammered, leaning forward and reaching for a small box with a card attached to it. He grabbed it and handed it to Skye. “Here.”

She gladly accepted it and took the card first, ripping it out of the envelope. The front of it just said ‘It’s Your Birthday’ but she almost died laughing when she opened the card. Inside it read ‘I hope this day rocks your world!’ with an illustration with an Earth seemingly experiencing a massive earthquake or something. Below it, Grant’s messy scrawl of handwriting read, ‘Seems appropriate since you’re Quake, right? Happy Birthday, Skye! – Grant’.

Skye rolled her eyes, “You’re too cheesy, Grant.” she laughed, setting aside the card.

Grant shrugged, “Hey, it works. It’s an earthquake, you make those.”

“Alright, _Hellfire_.”

Coulson frowned, “What on Earth are you two going on about.”

Skye looked back towards the older man, “We gave each other superhero names.” she replied. “I’m Quake and he’s Hellfire. It’s a running joke now.”

The older man nodded but didn’t say anything in response.

With another laugh, Skye returned to her present, “Ohh, what is it?” she asked, briefly looking up at Grant.

“I dunno, why don’t you open it and see?” he teased.

She rolled her eyes and began tearing at the paper, “I hope it’s something good, considering it’s from you.” she said, reaching the box. She paused and looked at it for a good minute, trying to figure out what it was. It looked like a nondescript jewelry box, maybe he got her something like that. She took the top off the box to reveal a shiny, silver necklace with a spherical charm dangling from it. “Oh, Grant, I like it!” she exclaimed, taking the necklace from the box. “It’s pretty!”

“I, uh, Coulson said you liked jewelry and that one was, uh, nice.” It was clear that he was flustered once again. “So you do like it?”

“Of course I do!” She was nodding her head excitedly. “Hey, help me put it on!” She thrusted the small necklace into his hands and turned around so her back was facing him.

He gulped and blushed, undoing the small clasp of the necklace and leaning forward. He carefully reached around and draped it around her neck, bringing the clasp behind her. Slowly redoing the clap, he let it drop to her neck, “Uh, uh, there you go.”

She turned back around and they were both blushing. Coulson stood off to the side, his eyes narrowed. He knew that they liked one another, but didn’t want things moving that way just yet.

“Thank you.” she said simply, running her fingers over the small pendant. “It’s pretty.”

Grant blushed again and smiled slightly, pulling at his shirt collar, “D-Don’t mention it.” he stammered. “Uh, go ahead and get to your other presents.

Skye smiled and starting reaching for another present, ripping into that one as well. Grant looked down to his pants, picking at the material. He hoped that their friendship lasted a long time since she was the only friend he had. And she was what a friend was supposed to be, caring and supportive. And sometimes downright silly. He wanted her to stay.

And he knew that he had it bad for her, it was just that he had no idea how to express that to her. And then there was the fact that they were still young. He was fifteen and she just had turned fourteen. They had a good while to go until a relationship truly meant something for them. Right now, they were just best friends, but Grant knew that they could eventually make it more if she did feel the same way towards him. He thought that she did, he just wasn’t that great at picking up on that yet.

He sighed and looked back at her as she tore into another present, smiling at her laugh. He absolutely loved her laugh. It sounded so sweet and innocent, when in fact she wasn’t that at all. Yep, he already had it bad for her.

_“I do like you, Skye. I just don’t know how to say so.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the grand birthday chapter is here! It didn't go quite the way I wanted it to, but it's still good. But a few things are for sure: Grant's a huge adorable dork, this Coulson is the best Coulson, and Skye's a huge dork as well here. I hoped that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	17. Bet on It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant shows off his powers and a bet is made.

(Two Weeks Later)

“Hey, Grant.” Skye said, spinning around in Grant’s desk chair to look at him sitting on the bed.

“Hmm?” Grant looked back to her, blinking in confusion at her. He cocked his head slightly as well since she started to smile at her. He was afraid that she was scheming something.

“How come you haven’t let me see your powers?” she questioned. “I mean, you’ve been working with them for the past few weeks and I haven’t seen you use them at all. Well, there was that, well, mishap, but that doesn’t truly count.”

Grant blinked, his facing palling in color. He knew that Skye would eventually ask him something like that, but he wasn’t sure of when. So it did take him by surprise just a bit since it just came out of the blue. Hell, they were just watching TV after all.

“Uh, well, I just don’t want you getting her.” he tried to explain, playing with his hands. “You know how easy it is for me to freak out and I don’t want you in the room when that happens. I don’t get very far with working with my powers and I tend to start freaking out every time. I don’t want you getting hurt if that freak out lead to a loss of control on my part.”

“Grant,” Skye began carefully. “Do you not remember the incident almost three months ago?”

“Not very well.” Grant replied, crossing his arms. “But I don’t see what that has to do with this.”

“When I tried to calm you down, one of your flames jumped out at me.” she explained a little further. “But it didn’t burn me at all, it was just a little warm. So for some reason, you can’t hurt me. So me watching you try to work with your powers isn’t a risk towards me at all. I’ll be fine. And besides, you probably need a friendly face in there to help you if something does go wrong, right?”

Grant’s eyes drifted towards the ground, the memory hitting him like a train. He did remember Skye reaching out towards him as he cried, scared out of his mind due to the flames dancing around him. He did remember a flame jumping out towards her and his heart momentarily stopping as he feared for her safety. And he did remember the flame harmlessly brushing her skin and doing nothing to her at all. She was right, he couldn’t hurt her whatsoever. He had no clue to how that was possible, but he wasn’t going to question it. That’s all that mattered to him, that he was incapable of hurting Skye with his powers.

He sighed and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. I guess I can try and show you. Just as you promise to stand a few feet away.” he muttered. “Even though I can’t hurt you, I just don’t want to risk it. I don’t want something happening to me and it somehow making the flames able to hurt you.”

Skye nodded, her heart freezing over at the sight of the sadness in Grant’s eyes. He was genuinely scared for her safety. She was one of the few things that truly mattered to him and he didn’t want her getting hurt by his hand at all. He was so tired of losing things to his powers. Grant had lost his family’s love to his powers and his house. He truly didn’t have much left.

“Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want, Grant.” Skye stated softly, standing to her feet. “If that makes you comfortable, I guess.”

Grant smiled and nodded as well, pushing himself off of his bed and standing right next to Skye. He seemed like a brute compared to her shorter and more slender frame. She was only like 5’5” and he was a little over six foot and still growing. And in the past five or so months, he had put on a hell of a lot of muscle. He was basically huge for a fifteen year old. But Skye wasn’t complaining, she thought that was one of his traits that made him attractive. But she wasn’t going to admit that to him for a long time now. A very long time.

He scratched at the back of his head and looked down at her, “So you wanna go to the gym now?” he asked. “That’s where I do most of my power training. Usually Coulson has another agent watch me as a just in case, but I think I may be fine with just you there. You know how to stop one of my panic attacks, right?”

“I guess. Just depends on how bad it is and what caused it I guess. I managed to get you out of that one the other night when you woke up screaming from some kind of nightmare.” she explained as they walked out of his room. “And you still haven’t told me what the nightmare was about.”

“I already told you, Skye, I don’t remember anything at all. I can’t remember most of my nightmares. I only remember the fact that they make me wake up crying and screaming and send me spiraling into a bad panic attack. My meds don’t seem to help those. They help my anxiety but not the panic attacks.”

“Well, you’re way better than when you were when you first came in. You were bad off, Grant.”

Grant scoffed and shook his head as they approached the gym door, “And I’d like to forget all of that, Skye. I’d like to forget my family. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have one. I’d like to believe that I never had one.” He opened the door and let Skye in.

“It’s not as pleasant as it sounds, Grant.” Skye replied, walking into the gym. “Being an orphan is no fun.”

“You’d rather have a family that beat the shit out of you every day for five years and damaged you physically and mentally to a point where you can’t come back from it?” Grant questioned, his tone dead and his gaze icy. “I’d rather have nothing than have that. I’m sorry.”

Skye took a breath, “Look, I didn’t mean to touch a sore point with you, Grant. It’s just that I never knew my mom or dad, and I would like to at least know who they are. That’s all.”

Grant nodded, “I guess that does make sense. There’s no telling to who they are. They may be amazing people, they may not be. Maybe one day you’ll finally find out who they are.” He shrugged off his jacket and lightly tossed it to Skye.

“Yeah, hopefully. But let’s not get so bummed out now.” she stated, taking his jacket and heading over to the bench to sit down. “I wanna see what you can do. It doesn’t have to be all that much. Whatever you’re comfortable with, right?”

He took a sharp breath and nodded again, “It’s just gonna be a bit. I don’t know how much I can take. Since I’ve hardly used them in the past five years, I don’t have much stamina with them. Just a little usage drains me. I almost passed out the other day. And the other day is the only time that I actually didn’t freak out.”

Grant extended his hand in front of him, concentrating on his palm. As his flexed his hand, dark red flames erupted from sparks from his palm and engulfed his hand to a halfway up his forearm. He struggled to keep a hold on it and turned to look at Skye, smiling, “See, I can do just a little bit.”

She smiled back at him, “I told you that it would be cool!” she exclaimed. “I’d show you mine, but I don’t want to bring the building down or damage any of the equipment.”

Grant knew that she was still talking, but it became garbled-up in his ears. His eyes rested onto the flame and he couldn’t help the memories that started to seep out:

_“Just what the hell are you?! You’re not my son!”_

_“You’re just a freak, Grant! You’re some kind of monster that doesn’t deserve any of what we have. You are a freak that’ll be locked up for the rest of your life! And no one will ever love you!”_

_“You’re not human, boy. You aren’t my son. You’re some kind of demon that took his place. You’re hellspawn.”_

_“You must be the Devil’s son.”_

Meanwhile, Skye noticed that Grant was staring at his flaming hand, his face pale and fear in his eyes. She stood to her feet, knowing that it was starting to freak him out. She slowly approached him, careful to keep her distance, “Grant?” she called. “Are you alright?”

Grant didn’t respond.

“Grant, if you’re starting to panic, just listen to my voice and focus on that. Whatever bad memories are coming back, ignore them and focus on me. I’m pretty sure that I’m more important to you than those memories are.”

Grant blinked and looked back up towards her, his flaming fist dropping to his side and snuffing out, “Huh?”

Skye smiled at him, “You okay?”

He nodded a little shakily, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a few bad things came back up that I didn’t like.” he replied, looking down to his hands. “I’m fine. I’m okay. Let me try this again.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah.” Grant raised both his hand up and they both erupted into flames. He focused on Skye and her amazement, trying not to let those bad memories bully him again. If he was going to be a SHIELD agent, he had to learn how to control these flames. And especially if he was going to be a superhero one day. He had to do it. He had to do it for Skye.

“I’m gonna hit that wall over there.” Grant said, motioning with his head towards the far wall. “I’m gonna make fireballs. And you might wanna step back.”

Skye swallowed a dry lump in her throat and stepped back just a bit to give Grant some space, “Alright, let’s see just how good you are, Hotshot.” she said with a teasing grin.

He smiled weakly back and with speed she didn’t expect from him, he started flinging dark red fireballs at the concrete, one after the other. The white-hot flames scorched the concrete on contact and Skye was so glad that she was immune to them. This went on for a few minutes before Grant stopped and his arms dropped limply, still flaming, to his side.

He was breathing hard and was covered in sweat. He wasn’t kidding when he said his powers took a lot out of him. It only had been a few minutes, but he was acting like he had run a marathon. It goes to show just how untrained he was with his powers.

“Grant?” Skye called, taking a few steps towards him. “You okay there?”

He nodded and gave a flaming thumbs-up, but a sudden pain shot through his chest and he growled as his knees buckled. The flames dissipated as he fell to the ground and Skye could’ve sworn that his eyes had glowed red for a few seconds right before she dashed towards him.

“I think you overdid it a little bit there.” she commented, helping his heavy self up. He was breathing so hard that it wracked his body with each breath.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Not enough stamina built-up yet for a show like that. I’ve gotta lot to work to do.” He groaned as he shifted, “Can you get my jacket and help me back to my room? Please?”

She nodded softly and grabbed his jacket from the side and handed it to him. Grant slipped it on and got up with the help of Skye. He was wobbly as he walked, but he tried his best to keep himself up. He knew he had a lot of work to do before he could actually fight with his powers. He didn’t need to be passing out in the middle of combat.

They walked a little while in silence before Grant broke it.

“Hey, Skye? I wanna make a bet.”

“What?” she asked, not stopping since it would make him fall. “What are you talking about?”

“A bet. I wanna bet who’ll become a superhero first.” he replied, keeping his eyes on the hallway in front of him. “I know I said it would probably be you, but I wanna make it fun. Whoever becomes a superhero first wins. The loser has to give the winner something in return.”

“Like what?”

“Let’s say a hundred bucks.” he stated. “Since it’ll probably happen well into the future and we’ll both have the money, but I don’t want to make it too much, okay?” He stopped and turned to look at her, holding out a hand, “Deal?”

Skye frowned and stared at his hand a bit. She wasn’t sure about it, but Grant seemed so set on this bet. He had some newfound mindset on actually becoming some kind of superhero. And she believed that he could do it, it just may take a while. She sighed and took his hand, shaking it, “Fine. Deal. But I’m gonna be the winner though. Telling you that now.” She smiled, “Sorry.”

“No, _Quake,_ it’s gonna be me.” He practically sneered at her.

“Sorry, Hellfire, I win at everything. I’m going to beat you. Homerun.”

“Well, only time will tell, though. It won’t happen for us for a long time.” he stated, turning around. “I’ve got to train a whole lot more for that. I’ve got to become a SHIELD agent first.”

“No, you’ve got to get to bed first before you pass out.” Skye said, grabbing his arm as he started to wobble again. “Sleep now, SHIELD agent later.”

Grant huffed, “Fine.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll get what you want. You’re Hellfire after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, who do you think will be the winner of the bet? Grant or Skye? And next chapter will be a couple month time jump. I'm almost thinking Thanksgiving, but it may be a month or two before that. I'm trying to get to Grant going to the Academy as fast as possible. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments?)


	18. As Hearts Fall Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving and Grant still isn't doing well.

(Four Months Later, Thanksgiving)

“What do you mean you’ve never had a real Thanksgiving dinner?” Skye asked, gaping at Grant. “Even before your parents locked you up?”

Grant shrugged and reached for his TV remote. He and Skye were supposed to watch the big parade on TV and it was about time for it. He hadn’t seen it in years; normally, it had been something he, Tommy, and Rose had done. “My parents were never family-oriented, Skye. Everything was strictly business and politics with them. Every Thanksgiving, my father would throw a massive party for all of his supporters. It wasn’t something we all sat around the table and said what we were thankful for.” he explained. “I normally never even ate with them. Me and my younger brother would grab a little something and then go hide in my room.”

Skye scooted back and leaned up against Grant’s headboard as Grant found the right channel for the parade, “We always had something the nuns threw together for us. It wasn’t much, but it was still something.” she stated. “Kind of seemed like we were one, big misfit family. Even though all of the rest of them did get adopted.”

“Can’t you technically say that Coulson adopted you in a way?” Grant asked, scooting back to sit beside her. “He acts like a dad to the both of us. He’s probably the only real father figure that you’ve ever had and he’s surely way better than my own father.”

“Well, I guess. Even if it isn’t a true adoption. He was the one responsible for picking us both up. Even though yours was a flat-out rescue mission. You were dying.”

Grant looked back to the TV as some commercials played, “I’d rather forget about all of that Skye. That was eight months ago, that’s the past.” he muttered. “But I’m not sure if I’ve come very far from that or not.”

“Of course you’ve come a long way, Grant!” Skye exclaimed. “I mean, maybe not in some aspects. You still can’t talk about what happened to you a whole lot and you still can’t socialize with the others.”

“Skye, you know I can’t find the right things to say to them. I don’t know how to start a conversation one bit. And I just don’t like them. They look at me funny and I’ve never done anything to them.” Grant exclaimed, bringing his knees to his chest. “I don’t like people looking at me funny.”

Skye remembered that Grant supposedly had the mentality of a ten year old or so because of what happened. He was bad at socialization and hated the most trivial things. Small things freaked him out and sent him into a panic. The only time he ever acted normal was around Skye, and she wasn’t quite sure to why that was. Strange or uncomfortable situations were what made Grant’s condition flare up.

She took a small breath and reached for the blanket, pulling it up around them both, “It’s just that they still don’t quite understand you yet, Grant. You haven’t talked to any of them in the eight months that you’ve been here, so they really don’t know you at all.” she explained. “And they really don’t know what you can do. All they know is that you’re pyrokinetic, that’s it.”

“Well, they’ll never find anything else about me. I don’t like them, so I won’t talk to them.” Grant practically pouted. “I don’t need friends. I was alone for five years of my life, I can be alone for even more. And besides, I have you. That’s all I need. I don’t need more.”

Skye didn’t quite know what to say in response to that. It honestly made her blush since she was all Grant really wanted. But in a way in made her sad as well. He refused to make friends, which was really unhealthy for his current condition. And no matter how many times his therapist told him that he needed friends, Grant would never do it. It was just something he didn’t like.

But at least Grant was a little fonder of working with his powers. Over the past few months, his proficiency with them had grown a good bit. He had found that he could shape his flames into pretty much whatever he wanted. The scientists had deduced that his flames were like extra limbs and he had a physical connection with them. They were a part of his body.

And then there was still the fact that the scientists were so dead set on labeling the young boy a demon. Because of the high levels of sulfur in his flames and his hellish rage, that was the label that they wanted to get him. But no one SHIELD had dealt with a demon before, so it was hard to say if Grant being a demon was the truth or not. To SHIELD, demons were just supernatural myths. But anything was possible in the age of gifteds.

But the one, big mystery to Grant was the extent of his powers. Was his demonic nature only limited to his nasty rage and his flames? Or could there be even more to him hiding underneath his skin? That had been the question that had freaked Coulson out. Coulson refused to believe that Grant had the potential of being something monstrous. The agent just wanted the kid to live his life and get what he wanted. He wanted to see Grant make it through the Academy.

And Skye did as well. She had decided on going to the Academy as well, even though it would be a totally different campus: Communications. It would be a couple of years of hardly even seeing Grant and that bothered her. But Coulson had said that there was a possibility, if everything went right, that her and Grant could be paired up together as a new strike team. Of course Skye would have to go through a bit more training, but she did like that possibility. But Grant would be the one more in the field than her. She was just a lot more tech-oriented than fighting-oriented. That was Grant’s forte.

“Well,” Skye began, seeing that the parade was about to start. Or at least just the hour of performances beforehand. “You at least need to try, it won’t hurt to try. And I can help you with that.”

Grant shrugged, his eyes locked onto the TV, “Whatever you say, but that won’t change anything.” he muttered, picking mindlessly at the blanket covering them both. “And I’m not going to do it at dinner later either. I want food, not friends.”

Skye rolled her eyes, figuring that Grant was only caring about the food with dinner. A few SHIELD agents, including Coulson, had gotten together to cook a big dinner for the kids. They had done that the past couple of years, now it was kind of traditional. It gave the kids a sense of family.

But Grant was a total food junkie, which was only because he had to eat so much every day to keep health. So all of his meals were pretty big and Skye suspected that he would eat a good portion of the food they were going to have tonight. Skye had never seen someone that could eat so much and it dumbfounded her, but she did know that was because Grant’s high body temperature made his metabolism burn through what he ate really fast. So she couldn’t really make fun of him for it. It was just a part of what he was.

“Alright, Cookie Monster.” Skye snorted. “We’ll get your food later. Just don’t eat it all, okay?”

Grant looked over and narrowed his eyes at her. Skye had started calling him Cookie Monster after she found him eating an entire package of chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen all by himself a few weeks ago. He just had been hungry and was weak after a workout. And he really didn’t realize he had eaten the entire package until Skye had walked in and had started laughing at him.

“Fine. I’m just hungry and I want some turkey and some pie.”

“Yeah, more like the entire turkey and all of the pie.” Skye retorted with a teasing smile.

“Skye, please. Not in the mood for jokes.” Grant said a little tiredly. He had been in one of his depressed states lately and hadn’t been feeling very well at all. He was just doing his best to try and watch the parade with Skye. But he knew he would probably be asleep by the time that it was over.

Skye’s smile turned into a comforting one, “Sorry, didn’t know that you felt bad.” she replied softly. She pointed at the TV, “Look, one of the dances is starting. Just watch that.”

Grant sighed and gently leaned his head up against Skye’s shoulder. He loved doing this and it comforted him when he was starting to feel really bad about himself. His depression seemed to never let him go. He closed his eyes and let the music of whatever musical performance was going on fill his ears. There had to be something to distract him from his thoughts. He couldn’t bear to have to focus on them at the moment. His thoughts tore him down and tried to destroy him. They sometimes pressured him to try to do what he did over eight months ago; they tried to get him to kill himself.

There were days that he felt like an absolute monster and hated every fiber of his own body. It was horrible, and sometimes he could barely find the strength to move on. And the concept of this day only made him feel worse.

He knew that later on at dinner, someone would ask everyone what they were thankful for. He had seen it on TV and figured it was customary to do so. But he really had nothing he was thankful for. He hated himself and had no family. All he really had was Skye and Coulson, but it sounded so cheesy to say so. He feared that the other kids would think him even weirder if he said so. So he would just remain quiet and advert his gaze from everyone else. He just wanted the food, not the company.

He just let the sounds drown everything out and lull him into an uneasy sleep.

And Skye knew that he had fallen asleep on her shoulder due to the soft snore coming from him. She knew that he felt absolutely horrible today. He hated the concept of the holiday and it only reminded him of how little he truly had; of what his family had taken away from him.

Skye rested her head up against the top of Grant’s head, the softness of his black hair tickling her cheek. Her eyes stayed on the screen, but really wasn’t paying attention. “Grant,” she whispered, despite him not being able to hear her. “I’m sorry you feel so bad. I’m sorry that you’re hurt. It’s been eight months and you’ve made very little recovery. Just get better, I don’t want you getting hurt again. I don’t want to lose you before we have the chance to truly make anything out of our lives.”

There were still bets to be fulfilled. There were still dreams to be met. There was still so much out in front of them for them to get through.

“I don’t wanna lose you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it was such a big time jump, but I'm trying to get it to the Academy days as fast as possible. So the next chapter will be a combo of Christmas and New Years, then the next will be Grant's birthday. But I hope that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so? I'd like to know what you think!)


	19. Everybody Needs Someone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas and Grant's not that excited.

(Christmas Morning)

Grant woke up with a groan as something, or some _one_ jostled his bed. He slowly opened his eyes to see Skye standing over him with a huge smile. He had to refrain himself from freaking out and accidently trying to attack her, even though that he knew that his powers couldn’t hurt her.

“Jesus, Skye.” he groaned, sitting up in bed. “Don’t do that. You know that you’re not supposed to startle me in any way, right?” He blinked and looked her over, “And why on Earth are you so happy?”

“Because it’s _Christmas_ , Grant.” Skye stressed, pointing at him. “You’ve gotta be excited for Christmas of all things.”

Grant mindlessly scratched the back of his head, “Oh, yeah, that. Skye, you’ve got to remember that I’ve never really had a true Christmas. It was all about business and politics for my father. Me and my siblings would probably only get a couple of things each year. Then I didn’t have anything for five years. So something like this tends to slip my mind.” he explained.

Skye walked over and began to pull him out of his bed by his arm, “Well, you’ve got be excited today. I know that Coulson got us something and I did get you a little something too. So you’ll actually have something to open.”

“Fine.” Grant grumbled. Truly, the only reason to why he slightly looked forward to today was because he had gotten Skye something as well. Nothing much, just a small charm bracelet that kind of matched her necklace. And, yes, he did care about the food that they were supposed to get at dinner.

He groaned and slid to his feet, towering over Skye. In the past several months, he had grown a couple of inches. He now stood at 6 feet, three inches, so he definitely towered over Skye’s petite frame. And he definitely had bulked-up a whole lot as well. To put it simply, he was a brute.  Far from what he had been when he first got to the facility.

Skye poked Grant’s bare chest, “And why do you sleep with just boxers on?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Blush quickly rose to Grant’s cheeks and he looked down to his shirtless frame, “Uh, because it’s comfortable?” he questioned, a crack in his voice. It was clear that he was embarrassed. It was just too weird for him that he girl he liked was currently staring at him in his underwear.

“At least you’re not naked.” Skye commented, giving him a smirk. Yes, she loved the sight she was getting from the underwear-clad Grant, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “Put some clothes on and we’ll go see if we can find Coulson. We don’t open presents until Coulson’s there. He’s like the surrogate parent or whatnot.”

Grant rolled his eyes and moved to the side to grab a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from his dresser, “Whatever the hell you say.” he retorted. “I still don’t see the hype in Christmas, thought. I assume you got a Christmas with the nuns, right?”

“Not much. They would cook and give us a little something.” Skye stated solemnly. “I did once get a Christmas with one of my foster families, right before they dropped me right back off at the orphanage. So you at least probably had it better than me for a while.”

“I don’t see why no one wanted you.” Grant commented, slipping on his pants. “There’s nothing wrong with you. I mean, the powers are a bit of a downer, but still.”

“I think it’s better that no one wanted me. If my powers came out when I was with a family, then it would be a disaster. Luckily, I was at the orphanage at the time and was able to get away before anything bad happened.” Skye explained, looking down at the floor.

“You never mentioned what happened to cause your powers.” Grant said, looking back up at her after putting on his shirt. “Mine came out of anger, but what was your cause?”

Skye’s face fell, “You know what? I really don’t remember.” And that was honestly the truth. She couldn’t remember how her powers came to be. All she remembered was darkness and some kind of suffocating feeling. But, honestly, she didn’t want to know.

Grant nodded slowly, “I guess not knowing is better than knowing. I wish I could forget the day my powers awoke.” he muttered. “I’d really love to forget everything prior to coming here, but things don’t work that easily. I’ve got to live with those memories. I’ve got to live with the trauma. It’s something that you can’t forget.”

“Hey, things will be alright now, okay?” Skye reassured him, placing a hand on his arm. “They’re gone now, they won’t hurt you again. And once you’re a big, bad SHIELD agent, they can’t touch you even if they do come back. You’ll be much bigger than them, and literally at that.”

He blushed again and ducked his head, “I hope that will truly be the case. It’s just that I’m not so sure of myself sometimes.” Grant really couldn’t understand that someone could come back from something so horrible like he had been through. He couldn’t understand that he had the potential of becoming someone heroic, even if Skye told him that time and time again.

“Look, you can do it.” Skye stated with a smile. “Just give it some time and you’ll be able to do it. And besides, you’ve got like four, long years to endure in the Academy. That’ll definitely change some things.”

Grant shook his head, “Whatever you say. Let’s just get today over with first, okay?”

“Fine. Let’s go see if the others are already in the common room. We’ve been talking for a while. They’re probably waiting on us. And you know that the others don’t like to wait.”

“Fine, then let’s go. I don’t want the others staring at me more than they already do. I know that they don’t like me, but come on. Give me a break, will they?”

“Just because they look at you doesn’t mean that they hate you.”

“You don’t see how they look at me. They look at me like I’ve got horns growing out of my head or something. I may be a demon, but I don’t look like one.”

Skye sighed and rolled her eyes, taking Grant’s hand and starting to pull him out of the room, “Come on, Mr. Paranoid. Let’s go see what we got.”

 

* * *

 

(A Few Hours Later)

Overall, opening presents had gone fairly well for Grant. Even though he almost had a panic attack due to the other kids all staring at him as he and Skye walked into the room, it still had gone pretty well. And both he and Skye were pretty pleased with what they got.

Skye was happy with the bracelet that Grant had given to her and caused him to blush as she exclaimed that she absolutely loved it. On the other hand, Skye had given Grant a few books and he was beyond happy with them. Grant was so easy to please, books were his favorite thing and that’s all he ever wanted. And Coulson had really splurged for the two kids, in addition to him being the one that actually bought the books and the bracelet.

The older agent had gotten them a PlayStation and a few games that they could play together. Of course this had kind of angered the other kids, but they really didn’t understand that it was mainly for Grant. It was pretty much to help him ground himself and keep him distracted from things that bothered him. They didn’t understand that it basically could be considered a form of therapy for the boy.

But Coulson was just glad that both Grant and Skye were happy. He viewed the both of them as his kids and truly wanted the best for them. So as long as they were happy, he was happy.

He had laughed when Grant and Skye dashed out of the room as soon as everyone was done and went back to Grant’s room. He figured that they were going to try and figure out how to set up the console so they could go ahead and play a game. The two of them had looked so excited, it really put a warm feeling in his chest.

But he saw how the two of them looked at one another. He knew that they did loved one another, but just had no clue how to express that. And Coulson definitely knew that Grant had no clue to how to express love. Grant had issues with his everyday emotions, so something like love would be extremely hard for him. But with Grant leaving in August for the Academy, Coulson knew that something would probably happen within the next few months. Even though he really didn’t want to think about the two kids in a romantic relationship of any sorts.

But that wasn’t something that he could stop. It would eventually happen, no matter if he liked it or not.  Coulson just had to see where it went in the next few months. He just hoped that they would be beyond happy with one another.

Meanwhile, Grant and Skye were in fact already beyond happy with one another, even if they didn’t realize or not. Skye felt most at home with Grant and Grant was only truly happy when Skye was with him. Just being in the same room with one another was enough to make them both happy. They just couldn’t admit that. And they probably wouldn’t admit that for a long time now.

And to be honest, they would probably never leave one another. Coulson was already working on finding a way for them to work together once they were both in SHIELD. He knew that Grant needed someone there to help him when things got tough and Skye didn’t like being without him. Coulson had never seen two people more head over heels with one another, even if they were still teenagers. He had a feeling they’ll probably always have one another.

Because, you know, somethings can never be broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I truly had no clue what to write, and that's mainly why this chapter is kind of short. But next one will be a big one since it's Grant's birthday! And I keep forgetting that this is currently 1998 in this fic, so it was weird think about an original PlayStation. But I hoped that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five comments or so?)


	20. Watching for Comets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally Grant's birthday.

And, once again, Grant was woken up at an undesirable time by Skye, just like how she did at Christmas. All happy-go-lucky and her face filled with a massive smile. Grant groaned and turned over, covering his head with his pillow to try and block Skye out, “Go away, Skye. I wanna sleep. Leave me alone for just a few hours. Please.”

“Come on, Grant, it’s your birthday.” Skye urged, trying to find some way to get him out of the bed. There was no way that she could move him, he was like three times the size of her. “You can’t sleep it away.”

“I did so for five years.” he grumbled, gripping his pillow. “So doing so for another year doesn’t matter. If I wanna sleep, I’m going to sleep. Besides, I don’t feel very good anyways. So leave me alone.”

“I thought you wanted to celebrate your birthday?” Skye asked, crossing her arms and glaring down at him. “What happened to that?”

“Maybe I was just a wide-eye newbie with too many wishes.” Grant almost hissed, not moving from his spot. “Then the realization hit that I’m not really going to go anywhere. The Academy probably isn’t going to work out. They want heroes, not a kid with too many issues to count who doesn’t even know what they are. My birthday is meaningless, Skye. Just forget about it and leave me alone.”

And that completely answered Skye’s question. Grant had, once again, fallen into one of his really bad depressed states where he did nothing but ridicule himself and say that everything wasn’t worth it. But instead of leaving him alone like he wanted, Skye knew that she had to find some way to cheer him up before things got too bad.

She took a breath and gently sat on the edge of his bed, “Grant, things will go better than how you think they will. You just have to let them happen and see what comes. You’ll be okay, I promise.”  she said quietly. “But look, I even promise that today will be okay. Coulson didn’t plan anything big. Actually, he didn’t plan anything at all. He just wanted to see what you wanted to do, I think. He knew that you weren’t comfortable with some over the top celebration. He said that you can do whatever you wanted, but I don’t think he’s going to be okay with you doing nothing.”

Grant still didn’t move, “I told you, I don’t want to do anything. I didn’t do anything for five years and I’m not about to start this year.” he muttered, further clenching his pillow.

Skye narrowed her eyes, noticing a faint glow coming from his fingertips. It was bad when even she was making him agitated. She had to be careful with what she chose to say. One wrong move and he would blow. It was basically like trying to disarm a bomb.

“Grant, look, you’re sixteen now. You can do a lot of things now.” she said, trying to figure out something to say.

Grant moved the pillow and narrowed his eyes at her, “Name one thing I can do now.” he stated lowly. Well, at least he was looking at her now and had moved the pillow.

She gulped. Honestly, there wasn’t actually much he could do since he was sixteen. “Well, uh, you can legally drive now.”

He further narrowed his eyes, “Woo.” he answered sarcastically.

“Okay, maybe there isn’t all that much you can do now. But look, it’s the first birthday you’ve had in years that you can actually celebrate. It doesn’t have to be anything be. It can just be me, you, and Coulson.” she gently began to explain. “And it doesn’t matter what we do. But it’s probably best that you do get out of this base and see the sun for a change.”

Grant grumbled and continued to stare down Skye, but eventually nodded. He knew that there was no winning against Skye in an argument. She always got her way every single time. “Fine.” he huffed. “I’ll do something, but as long as it’s just you and Coulson with me. None of those other wackos. They hate me anyways.”

Skye sighed and stood to her feet, “Okay. Whatever you want. It is your birthday. Just get cleaned up before you find me and Coulson, okay?”

“Fine, okay. Whatever the hell you say.” he grumbled, sliding out of his bed and lumbering to his feet. Some sort of weakness shown in his eyes. It was clear that he didn’t feel good, but it was truly best that he did get out of the base for a few hours. He scratched as his bare chest, “Go tell Coulson that I’ll be out there soon. Just give me a little bit.” He turned and trudged off towards his small bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Honestly, Skye didn’t know what she was getting herself into. She really hoped that Grant wouldn’t be a grumpy mess the whole entire time that they were out. She shrugged and headed out of the room to find Coulson. She was just glad that she had gotten Grant out of bed. When he was like this, it was really hard to do so.

It was just only a matter of how he acted for the rest of the day.

 

* * *

 

(A Few Hours Later)

Coulson looked in the rearview mirror of his car as both Grant and Skye slid into the backseat. He frowned as he noticed Grant’s glowering expression. It was clear that he was upset with going somewhere. The older agent sighed, “So, Grant, where do you want to go?” he asked, really hoping that Grant would at least suggest something.

Grant shrugged and grunted, “Doesn’t matter. I’m not very good at choosing things on my own, remember?” Another downside of what happened to him, he was bad when it came to choices and most of the time it freaked him out. “So just choose a place and let’s do that.”

“Grant, it is your birthday, so you get the pick.” Coulson continued, still looking at the two teens in the rearview mirror. “I’m about willing to go anywhere, as long as it makes you happy.”

“I honestly don’t care to where we go.” Grant deadpanned. “McDonald’s.”

Skye frowned and looked over to Grant with a scowl, “Ew, Grant, you can do better than that. I mean seriously.” she fussed.

“Coulson said I had the pick.” Grant bit back.

Coulson sighed and briefly drifted his gaze up to the roof of the car, “Grant, Skye’s right on that. You’re not going to McDonald’s for your birthday. That’s just too plain and simple. We’ve got to throw a little something special in there.”

Grant’s face twisted up and he grumbled.

“If it’s burgers you want, there’s a nice burger place several miles up the road.” Coulson continued, not waiting for Grant to respond. “You can get a pretty big burger and their fries are pretty much amazing. We can go there and it’s not too big of a hassle.”

“Fine.” Grant muttered in reply with a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t care.”

Coulson took a deep breath and nodded, starting up the car, “Alright, we’ll do that then. And I promise you, it’s a pretty good place. You’ll be happy.”

“Yeah, as long as he doesn’t eat their entire stock of hamburger meat.” Skye joked with a slight laugh, carefully elbowing his shoulder.

Grant glowered at her in response, fire sparking in his eyes. But, honestly, Skye was pretty sure he was just teasing her. Lately, he was always either brooding or mischievous. There was no in between.

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Coulson asked, confusion completely lacing his voice. He had no idea of the cookie incident.

“You know how Grant eats a whole lot?” Skye questioned, her eyes going to Coulson.

“Uh, yeah. It’s because of his extremely high metabolism and the fact that he’s not human. He has to eat an unnatural amount of food in order to pretty much survive.

Skye rolled her eyes at Coulson’s response. There he went, sucking the fun out of her explanation. “Well, about three months ago I found Grant mindlessly eating an entire package of chocolate chip cookies. He ate all twenty-four or so. So I started making the joke of him possibly eating all the food we have at most meals.”

“That’s not nice, Skye. It’s something that he can’t help.” Coulson responded, disappointed.

“I’d like to add in that I just had finished working out and I was starving and wanted sugar.” Grant pushed in, his voice slightly tinged with discontent. “I didn’t even realize that I was eating that much.”

“See, Skye?” Coulson pressured. “That’s not a very nice thing to be joking about with him.”

“He knows that I’m just teasing him.” Skye argued, casting a glance towards a now-smirking Grant. “I’m not actually being mean to him or anything.”

“Yeah, but it’s still weird.” Grant cut in, frowning at her.

Coulson sighed once more as the two continued bickering with one another. He knew that it wasn’t out of hate or anything, they just tended to do that time to time. And he knew that it was one of their ways of showing that they liked one another, even if they didn’t realize that. 

Grant and Skye had known each other for almost a year now, the last week of March would make it a year. So Coulson knew that it would be sooner or later before the either of them professed their feelings towards the other. Grant had until August before he left for the Academy and wouldn’t see Skye for a while. So he had about seven months for the either of them to say something. But Coulson figured it would probably be sometime right before Grant left.

And Coulson kept this in the back of his mind as he continued to listen to the two kids bicker all the way to the restaurant. He had to break it up once they got there so they could go inside.

“Hey! Alright, we’re here. And one rule: no arguing at all. Let’s make this a nice, peaceful dinner and then we can get back to the base, alright?” Coulson said, not turning to look at them.

He got no response.

Frowning, Coulson cleared his throat loudly to scare them, “Alright?” he asked sternly.

“Y-Yes, sir.” both Skye and Grant stammered, eyes wide.

Coulson smiled to himself and opened the car door, “Good. Let’s make this a nice meal for Grant’s birthday, okay?” he asked, getting out.

The two kids got out without a word and followed Coulson into the restaurant. They had to tell the older agent what they wanted since he figured that Grant would refuse to order his own food. Grant always refused to talk to strange agents at the base, so Coulson figured that it would apply in this situation as well.

He got the two to go sit down as he ordered their food and drinks. And there weren’t many people in the restaurant, so there really wasn’t anyone to freak Grant out. And besides, the people here didn’t know to what Grant was. They didn’t know what he was capable of, so they had no reason to ridicule him at all. They wouldn’t even bother him.

A couple of minutes passed before Coulson came over to the table and handled them their drinks. “So, Grant,” he began as he sat down. “Are you okay with just doing this?” he asked. “I mean, you haven’t had a party in years, I kind of figured that you would want at least a little something.”

Grant blinked at Coulson, “Sir, honestly, I don’t care for any of that stuff. I guess not having it for a while kind of makes you lose interest in it. I don’t care for the presents or the cake, I honestly don’t.” he admitted. “You don’t have to get me anything special. You don’t even have to get me anything at all. I don’t care about that stuff.

I guess all that matters is that you two at least care about me. I guess that’s all I could ever ask for. All I ever wanted was someone that cared about me and didn’t slam my head up against the ground all because they wanted to.” he continued, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I know that two people isn’t a lot, but it’s a lot to me. I’ve only ever had three other people that cared about me. And that was my Gramsy and my younger siblings.”

Coulson took a breath, “Grant, I promise you that no one will ever hurt you like that again. Yes, you’ll get hurt during missions once you’re an agent, but you can heal from that. It’s one thing to be hurt by someone you don’t know, but it’s a completely different ballgame when it’s someone that you swore loved you.” he carefully explained. “But no one will do that here. People may hurt you because they don’t like you, but not in that magnitude. And there’s plenty of rules against just that. I promise you that you will be fine.”

Grant looked down to the table and didn’t say another word. Honestly, he didn’t know what to say. He wanted to believe Coulson’s words, but he just wasn’t so sure. He had a hard time trusting what others said.

And Skye sensed his growing discomfort and reached to lightly squeeze his hand under the table. Grant looked up to her and blushed, slightly smiling. At least he could trust her. He knew that she would never hurt him. Hell, she couldn’t even be touched by his flames. There was just something about that that told him everything would be alright between the two of them.

The three of them sat in silence until their food was brought to them. Coulson quickly thanked the waiter and sorted out their food to the right person. Of course, Grant did have the biggest burger, so it wasn’t that hard to figure out whose it was.

Coulson looked towards Grant right as the teen was starting to take a huge bite out of his burger, “Well, Grant, I’d like to be the first in a while to truly tell you happy birthday.” he said cheerfully.

Skye turned and smiled at Grant, “Yeah, Grant, happy birthday.” she added in, her smile growing.

Grant placed his burger down and smiled, starting to shy away. He wasn’t quite sure of what to say. He never knew what to say to such kindness. “T-Thanks.” he stammered, looking back down to the table and scratching the back of his head.

The two just smiled at him again and went to eating their food. Grant just stared at his burger for just a bit. He honestly didn’t think he deserved Skye and Coulson. They were just too good and Grant didn’t think he deserved their kindness at all. But he did enjoy it though, it actually did make the day feel worthwhile.

And, for the first time in a while, Grant actually felt good about himself. He felt that he could actually push on and not have to worry about anything.

He actually didn’t feel like a monster for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Grant's birthday does go pretty well. I don't know what I'll do next since I'm trying to cover a seven month timespan in just a few chapters. But if you do have a suggestion, I'd like to hear it. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or so comments, I'd like to hear your feedback!)


	21. Snow Days, Snow Daze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye have some fun out in the snow.

(About a Month Later)

The snow crunched underneath Grant’s heavy boots as he and Skye walked through the snow-covered forest that surrounded the SHIELD base. Grant stayed unfazed by the cold, even as Skye pressed up against him for warmth. She was basically encased in a thick, heavy jacket; Grant wore only a small jacket over one of his flannels.

Skye huffed as they continued their path through the forest, “I really wish I had your high body temperature.” she mumbled, pressing up further against him. “You’re so freaking warm and you don’t have to wear this piece of crap jacket.”

Grant rolled his eyes, “Skye, you’re always cold.” he commented, stopping momentarily as the snowfall began to pick up. “How is this any different than any other time?”

“One, it’s snowing. Two, it’s like zero degrees out here.” she retorted. “And besides, you’re the one that grew up in the North, I didn’t. You’re built for this kind of stuff anyways. Fire powers or not.”

Grant snorted and trudged his way over to a snow-covered log, brushing off the snow and making sure that it wasn’t wet before sitting down on it. Skye followed suit as Grant looked towards the gray-colored sky. “You know, I don’t feel cold at all.” he began. “I never really have. So I don’t know what a cold winter’s day feels like. I don’t know what snow falling onto my skin truly feels like. It just feels like heavy droplets of rain.” He sighed and shook his head, “And I never will know either.”

Skye blinked, realizing that his words were basically self-deprecating by this point, “Grant, does it really matter to what cold feels like?” she asked. “Trust me, it’s not a pleasant feeling. I’d rather be warm all the time instead of being cold. Your warmth is what makes you special. And I like that very much.”

A heavy blush quickly covered Grant’s freckled cheeks and he ducked his head, “Aw, come on, Skye. Stop it with that.” he said, growing very flustered. He lightly pushed her shoulder with his hand, causing her to smile. At least she turned his mood around this quickly.

“Look, I’m telling the truth here, Grant. Your weird warmth is one of your best qualities.” she reiterated with a big smile. “I love it.”

Grant narrowed his eyes, “So is that why you’re always snuggling against me when we’re in my room?” he asked.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“Well, uh, no. It’s not. Hell, you’re probably the only one I’ll ever let touch me in any kind of way.” he admitted. “I guess it’s because I know that you’ll never hurt me in any way. I don’t even like it when Coulson gets too close to me.”

Skye nodded slowly and watched the snow fall to the ground. It was really starting to pick up now, they would need to get back to the base soon before they got trapped in it.

“I think that you’ll get better with that in time.” she began. “What you went through is a hard thing to recover from. It’s gonna take a long time until you’re better. Hell, you may never be completely healed from what happened. But at least you don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

Grant huffed and stood to his feet, the snow crunching underneath his massive frame, “I still want to prove to them that they’re wrong, that I’m not some kind of freak that deserves to be locked up for the rest of their life.” he replied sternly, clenching a fist. “I want to prove that they didn’t end my life at all. I want to rise back up and show that I’m better than them in every way possible. I want to become that hero that proves them wrong.”

He stood tall and turned to face Skye, “I want to prove that I am a hero, not the twisted monster that they thought I was.” he continued. “I want to be able to rub it in their faces one day without being afraid of them. I want to tell them that they were so wrong about me.” He took his right hand and held it out, snapping his fingers together and sending a spark high into the air and setting his hand ablaze as Skye stood to her feet as well, “Powers don’t make a person a monster, their actions do.”

Skye was amazed that Grant was speaking so highly of himself. It was so rare for him to do so that it was a complete and utter shock when he actually said something good about himself. But that meant he was due for another depressed episode soon enough. Those were still not getting better, despite Grant being in therapy for about nine months now. He still had a very, very long way to go before he was considered healthy.

She took a breath and nodded, “You’re absolutely right, Grant. Just because we have powers doesn’t make us monsters. It would be a completely different story if you had gone berserk with those powers and had hurt a lot of people, but you haven’t. Grant, you’re the sweetest guy that I know. You’re not a monster at all. Don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise. Your powers or your issues don’t make you a monster.” she explained in a comforting voice.

Grant smiled and stepped closer towards her, faint wisps of smoke coming off of his now-extinguished hand. “T-Thanks.” he stammered lightly. “That… That really does mean a lot.” The blush was starting to grow again upon his fair cheeks. He turned and scratched at the back of his neck, not saying anymore on the topic, “Do you think we should start getting back?” he asked. “I mean, the snow’s really starting to pick up and I don’t want Coulson sending an entire squadron of agents after us if he gets worried.”

Skye sighed at the fact that Grant was worrying over Coulson, even though they had told the older agent that they would be gone for a few hours and it had only been just over an hour. “Grant, we still have a couple of hours left before Coulson expects us back, so just enjoy the fact that it’s the two of us and it’s snowing.” she answered. “We could build a snowman or something, as long as you don’t set it on fire.”

Narrowing his eyes, Grant frowned at her, “What makes you think that I would set a snowman on fire?” he asked. “And besides, it wouldn’t catch on fire, it’s ice. It would just melt.”

Skye stuck her tongue out at Grant, “Know-it-all.” she teased. “You don’t have to go all science on me.”

“That’s not going ‘all science on you’. That’s basic knowledge. Ice melts with heat, it can’t burn.” he shot back. “And if I did even try to set the snowman on fire, there’s a chance that I would end up burning down the entire forest. I’m still not that great with my powers and I’m not,” He was abruptly cut off as something big and wet hit him smack dab in the middle of his face, temporarily blinding him. And by the sound of Skye’s laughter, he knew that it was her doing.

With a groan, Grant wiped the snow off of his face and glared at Skye, whom of which was red with laughter. She held a snowball in her hand. “Really, a snowball?” Grant asked, exasperated. “Why’d you hit me with it?”

“’Cause you were talking too much and I wanted to see just how much you don’t pay attention when you’re on one of your tirades. Hint, you don’t pay attention at all.” Skye snickered, raising her hand that held the next snowball. “Normally, you have the best reflexes and perceptions, but not when you’re ranting about something. If you wanna be a secret agent, you’ve gotta work on that.”

“Why would I be ranting about something in the middle of a mission, Skye?” Grant stressed, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure that isn’t something that is done at all. I think that I would be okay.” He narrowed his eyes again and ducked as Skye threw her other snowball at him. “Really?!”

Skye smiled, “Yes, really. I’m declaring this a snowball fight. Loser has to clean all the dishes tonight from dinner. It was already our turn to do it, but loser has to do it all by themselves.” she announced. “Winner takes all.”

Grant raised an eyebrow, “That’s kind of petty, Skye. But I’ll take it. I already know that I’ll beat you because I’m a hell of a lot faster than you.” he replied, surveying the area around him for a good spot to make his arsenal of snowballs.

“You’re also unbelievably cocky, so don’t get so full of yourself yet.” Skye shot back, headed towards the trees.

“I’ve also got better aim than you. I’m physically stronger than you.”

“You may also accidently melt all of the snowballs in the midst of battle and then you’re shit out of luck.”

“No I won’t.”

“Yes, you most definitely will. I know you, Grant Ward, I know you.”

Grant snorted, stepping over the log they had been sitting on and crouched behind it. He started on his first snowball, “Then you don’t fully know me, ‘cause I’m gonna win it and you’re gonna have to wash all those nasty dishes!” he jeered from over his shoulder. “Eat my dust!”

“We’re not racing, we’re throwing damn snowballs!”

“You know what I mean!”

Skye sighed and turned to start her own arsenal. No matter what Grant said, she believed that she was going to win and he was the one that would end up eating his words. Grant was just far too cocky for his own good.

“You ready yet?” Grant called.

“Yeah. Just about…. Now!” Skye screeched, hoping up and throwing snowball after snowball towards Grant.

But to her utter disbelief, Grant flawlessly dodged all of them and started hurling his own snowballs her way. Skye managed to dodge all but two of them and grimaced, seeing Grant smiling and laughing at her. She frowned and stuck her tongue out at him again.

“Alright, you wanted a battle, here’s a war!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry for the wait on this. I started college and I kind of forgot about this. But hopefully I should be back on a good schedule with this now and it shouldn't be much longer until Grant leaves for the Academy, which is when time between chapters really starts to speed up. I hoped that you enjoyed! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	22. Even Though I Tried

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant is in a bad mood again.

(May)

Skye watched intently as Grant wacked at a punching bag with a series of quick jabs. Her eyes trailed his firm muscles that rippled with each movement that he made. Now, Grant knew that Skye was only watching him for his muscles, but he truly didn’t mind. He loved the fact that he had someone that that didn’t look at him like he was some kind of grotesque monster.

After a while, Grant stopped and turned to face Skye, “Are you just going to sit in here and stare at me the whole entire time, or do you wanna join me?” he asked with a teasing grin. “’Cause I know that you’re not in here to work out as well.”

Skye stuck her tongue out at the boy, “I already worked out this morning, thank you very much.” she retorted. “So I think that I’m good for a little while before the next go.”

“Then why are you in here?” Grant teased further, raising a sharp eyebrow. He gave her another grin, “Do you like what you see?”

And with that, Skye almost choked on her own spit. “What?!” she exclaimed, standing to her feet. Red quickly rose its way onto her face as she tried to hide her embarrassment from Grant. “That’s not at all to why I’m in here! I’m just in here to be with you!”

“I smell a lie!” Grant replied in a sing-song voice, making his way over to the bench to pick up his t-shirt. He absolutely loved to tease Skye, only because she was the only one that he wasn’t afraid of. And she was the only one that wouldn’t retaliate against him at all. Grant sighed and picked up his shirt, looking at Skye as he slipped the shirt on, “You know, I don’t mind if you stare.” he stated. “I’ve never had someone look at me without malice. Coulson’s an exception because he’s the one that saved me and brought me here. But everyone else looks at me like I’m some kind of monster.”

Skye’s embarrassment quickly faded, realizing that she needed to defuse the situation before Grant’s mood drug him down too far. “Grant, you’ve got to remember that you’re not a monster at all. What others say isn’t the truth.” she stated firmly, watching as Grant took a seat next to her.

Grant clenched his jaw and his mouth formed into a thin, rigged line. He took a sharp breath and kept his gaze away from Skye, “Then tell the others that.” he replied coldly. “I don’t know why they look at me like I’m the monster that hides underneath their beds. I may be a demon, but I don’t look like one. I don’t have horns, I don’t have fangs. But I don’t know why the others act like I do.”

“They’re… They’re just afraid, Grant.” Skye tried to convince him. “I know that that makes them sound like hypocrites, but you can’t help that they’re afraid. You’re crazy strong, probably stronger than all of us put together. Especially when you’re upset. To be honest, that’s a pretty scary sight. So I don’t blame them that they’re scared, but they do need to realize that that’s not you all the time.”

“Skye, I’m three months away from leaving for the Academy. I can’t have people treat me this way when I’m there. If I slip-up there, there’s probably no second chances for me. Coulson can’t protect me there. If I get upset and rage and someone ends up getting hurt or killed, SHIELD won’t hesitate to lock me away. Nothing’s going to change between now and then. I’ve been here for a whole entire year now, and I haven’t gotten any better.” Grant took a deep breath and sighed, covering his face with his hands, “I’m starting to doubt that I’ll be able to make it through the Academy.”

Skye looked at Grant with almost a scorning look, even though he couldn’t see her, “Grant, don’t give me that.” she stated coldly. “Of course you’re going to make it through the Academy. And you’re going to be one of the best damn agents that SHIELD has ever had. You’re smart, strong, and fast. I don’t see how you wouldn’t be able to make it. And besides, weren’t you training to be a specialist anyways? Don’t they work alone?” she asked, poking Grant’s firm thigh.

Grant looked up and over at Skye. Skye frowned slightly as she saw specks of red starting to float within Grant’s irises. One of the things that she had learned about Grant and his powers was that red equaled bad news. When his eyes started to glow red, that meant that there wasn’t much holding his rage back. In this case, Grant was just getting upset again and that was mixing badly with the adrenaline that was coursing through his system thanks to the workout that he had just finished. Even though she knew that Grant couldn’t and wouldn’t hurt her, she still had to be careful with what she said for a while.

“Yeah.” Grant replied sharply, nodding his head a little. “But what’s that gotta do with anything?”

“Then you don’t have to worry about people. You may have classmates, but you’re not being trained to work with them.” Skye answered firmly. “You don’t have to worry about what they think because you’re not supposed to work with them. Don’t pay attention to them, only pay attention to what you’re supposed to be doing.

And the only reason to why you’re hated here is because everyone else saw the time you went ballistic on those two agents and almost killed them. And then the time you almost sent the base up into flames when Coulson made you snap.” Skye continued, standing to her feet and turning to face Grant. “They saw you at your worst and they automatically assumed that moments like those would happen a whole lot more. And you’ve only had a couple of moments like that, right?”

Grant sighed and shrugged, “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t have more. What if I end up having an episode that kills? What if it kills a lot? I know that my job will entail killing people, but those will be targets. Not innocents. I don’t know what I’ll do if I end up killing innocents all because I can’t control myself.” His voice was weak and full of self-hate. It was true, Grant did fear the day that he completely lost himself and took innocent lives. He didn’t think that as a matter of if, but as a matter of _when_.

“That’s not going to happen, Grant.” Skye reassure him as he stood to his feet. “You’re not capable of that. You’re not going to end up being a killer like that at all. You’re going to make it through the Academy and you’re going to be a damn good SHIELD agent. Then you’ll be that hero that you want to be.”

Grant managed a smile and shied away as a light blush began to rise up onto his freckled cheeks. He quickly looked back to her, “You really think so?” he asked sheepishly.

Skye raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know how many times that I have to say it, but I really think so.” she answered. “You’ve already worked so hard, so it shouldn’t be that much of a challenge to go the rest of the way.”

Even more blush rose to Grant’s cheeks as he tried to hide his face. He hated getting flustered like this in front of Skye, mainly because they hadn’t shared their feelings with one another just yet. Grant knew that he loved Skye, but he was afraid to tell her that. And even though he was pretty sure that she felt the same way towards him, he was afraid for what she would say in response.

Now, he was planning on trying to ask her out for her birthday in July. He wanted to say something to her before he left for the Academy in August. Once he left, they wouldn’t see much of one another for a few years. Even though Skye was also going into the Academy next year, she was going into Communications. Grant was going into Operations; they were two totally separate campuses that hardly interacted with one another. And Grant knew that his first year as an agent would be tough, Coulson had already told him that. So even in that year, he probably wouldn’t be able to see Skye for a while.

Coulson was trying to get it to where Skye would be assigned to whatever base Grant was assigned to. Even though Skye wouldn’t be going out into the field much, she still could do the work behind the scenes. Coulson had figured that she could still be Grant’s partner, despite Grant having to do high-level missions that Skye wouldn’t even be allowed to touch.

Apparently, Grant’s status as a gifted made him a type of special agent. SHIELD would put him through special training that allowed him to do missions that a normal level one agent wouldn’t be able to do for years. As a level one, Grant would have privileges that a level four or five would have. Grant wasn’t sure to if that was a good thing or not.

Grant just wanted everything to go well. He wanted to be that hero that would prove his parents completely wrong. He just wanted to go somewhere in his life and not let all of his problems drag him down and keep him from going where he wanted to go.

With that thought, Grant just sighed and looked at Skye again. But this time, a smile had formed on his face. Skye’s little pep talk had luckily brightened his mood big time. “Thanks for still believing in me, Skye.” he stated lightly. “At least you and Coulson think that I can go somewhere.”

Skye smiled back at him, “You know, it’s really no big deal, Grant. Best friends pick each other up when they’re down. You don’t need to thank me. You’d do the same thing for me, right?”

Grant scratched at the back of his head, “Uh, yeah.” he replied simply. “Of course I would. I hate to see you upset.”

“Good.” Skye started to walk out. “Come on, let’s go get some lunch.”

“Huh? Oh.” Grant muttered, following behind Skye. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

“But first, you’re taking a shower. I smell you from all the way over here and I don’t wanna smell that while I’m eating.”

“I don’t smell that bad.”

“Oh yes you do. Shower first, then we’ll eat.”

“Give me a break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait, but college got to me! I'll try to keep this a little more frequent now that there's only two chapters until Grant leaves for the Academy. The next chapter is Skye's birthday again. So that should be fun. And there were a few little allusions to the AU that spawned this in here (IE the stuff about Grant saying he doesn't have horns or fangs). But I don't think I'm including any of that in this AU. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	23. And Before We Say Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant gives Skye her best birthday present yet.

(July)

 

Coulson blinked at Grant as the boy walked inside of his office. The older man nodded to acknowledge Grant as he sat down in front of the desk. “What can I do for you, Grant?” he asked. “You normally don’t come to see me like this.”

Grant shook his head, “Ah, it’s nothing bad, if that’s what you’re thinking it is.” he answered. “I just want to ask you for a favor. That’s all.”

The agent smiled, “Of course, Grant. I’ll help you with whatever it is. Well, depending on what it is. But I assume it’s something simple, right?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, yes sir.” Grant replied, scratching at the back of his head. “It’s nothing too bad, I promise. Ah, you know how Skye’s birthday is tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. And I know that you haven’t gotten her anything yet.”

“Well, what I want to get her technically isn’t something physical, but I still need your help with it.” Grant began to explain. “Mainly ‘cause I can’t drive on my own yet.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow again, “Where’s this going, Grant?” he questioned. “Why would it involve driving?”

Grant gulped and blush started to rise to his freckled cheeks, “I-I want to ask Skye out, sir.” he answered. “I want to take her to dinner and I can’t exactly get her there on my own. That’s where you come in.”

A wide smile filled Coulson’s face. He knew that this was coming sooner or later. “Of course! I can help you get her wherever it is you want to go!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “Just one question though. What are you planning on doing?”

Grant shrugged, “Probably nothing much since it’s just Skye. I know that just the idea of me asking her out will mean the world to her. The restaurant doesn’t have to be fancy or anything of the like. I just wanted to do something before I left for the Academy next month, and I thought that doing it on her birthday would be a nice gesture.”

Coulson nodded, not really surprised that Grant and Skye’s relationship had gotten this far. The two had been practically inseparable in the past year. It had only been just a matter of time of when they did get together.  

“So I’m assuming that you’ll ask her tomorrow?” Coulson asked. “And the dinner will also be her present?”

Grant nodded, “Yes sir, that’s what I’m planning. I’ll ask her first thing tomorrow morning and then maybe we can do dinner earlier in the evening. So you are able to help with this, right?”

“I already said that I would and luckily I don’t have anything to do tomorrow night, so I’ll be able to take you two. I’ll just drop you guys off and maybe then pick you up in an hour or two, whatever you’re comfortable with.” 

Grant smiled, which was probably the biggest smile Coulson had seen on the kid in a while, “Thank you, sir!” he exclaimed. “You have no idea how much this means to me!”

The older man smiled back at Grant, “I’m pretty sure how much this means to you, Grant. I know that you love Skye, and I know that she loves you too. It’s just that neither of you have said anything about it yet.” he stated, lacing his fingers together and looking straight at Grant. “Just promise me that you won’t back out of it in the morning. I know you, Grant. You get the slightest bit scared and then you’ll won’t want to do it. It’s Skye, she’s not going to hurt you. You’ll be fine.”

With a shy nod, Grant looked down to his feet, “I know that, but it’s just that sometimes I’m not so sure of myself. I’m afraid that even though my flames can’t hurt her, I’ll end up somehow hurting her in the end. I just don’t want her getting hurt, that’s all.”

“You’ll won’t hurt her, Grant. I promise. You two will be perfectly fine.” Coulson reassured him. “Now go on and make her happy. I know that you asking her will make her year.”

“Yes sir.”

* * *

  
  


(The Next Morning)

 

As soon as Grant was up and ready, he rushed to find Skye. He met her just as she was walking groggily out of her room right next to hers. Skye blinked and studied him briefly, trying to figure out just why on Earth he was already up and dressed this early in the morning.

“Mornin’.” she said through a yawn. “Why are you so freakin’ excited? Shouldn’t I be the one to be excited? It’s my birthday after all. What do you want?”

“I wanna ask you something!”Grant practically shouted, clenching his fists at his sides. “And it’s very, very important too!”

Skye raised a curious eyebrow, “Okay? Ask away.” she answered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She really was in no mood for Grant’s energy this early in the morning. (It was seven AM.) 

Grant started to heavily blush and he pretty much started to forget what he wanted to ask her, despite it being on his mind for days. “I, uh, I….” he stammered. “I wanna ask you…. I wanna ask you….” he trailed off. “Shit, I can’t do this.”

“Grant, you’re asking me of all people. Why are you so freakin’ scared to ask me?” Skye asked, crossing her arms. “Go ahead and ask.”

“I wanna know if you wanna go out to dinner tonight!” Grant blurted out. He quickly clamped his mouth shut and turned away, his blush growing to a point where it looked as though he would burst into flames. 

Skye’s face fell and it took her a moment to process what Grant had just asked her. She looked at the shying Grant, “Out to dinner?” she echoed. Her face fell even more and blush started to rise to her tanned cheeks. She pointed at him, “Wait, are you asking me out?”

Grant turned back to look at her and smiled sheepishly, “Uh, happy birthday?”

Skye didn’t know what to say for a good, solid minute. One, she was completely flustered. And two, she was stunned that Grant had worked up the courage to ask her something like this. She thought for just about a minute more before launching herself towards the boy and wrapping her arms around him, “Of course!” she practically screamed. “Did you actually think that I would say no?!”

With more blush rising to his face, Grant ducked his head as he was still in Skye’s grip., “Well, you know how I am. I-I don’t always think that things will work out in my favor.” he stammered, scratching sheepishly at the back of his head. “But you are up to it?”

Skye squeezed him even harder, “Of course I am!” she exclaimed. She immediately pulled away from him, “Wait, what is it you’re exactly wanting to do?” she asked. “I know that you said dinner.”

“Well, that’s about it. I’m not entirely great on planning things on my own. I thought that we could go somewhere and eat. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, I know that you don’t really like to dress up all that much.” Grant explained, looking down to his feet. “I already told Coulson about it and he agreed to drive us wherever we wanted to go. And since it is your birthday, you can choose where we go eat.”

Skye squinted her eyes as if though she were in deep thought, “Well, it is still early in the morning and I’m not really thinking about dinner just yet, so I’ll tell you later. Okay? I’ll try to tell you by lunchtime so Coulson can know where we’re going.” She paused for a moment and frowned, “Wait, Coulson’s okay with this?” she asked. “I didn’t think that he would be okay with the two of us going out.”

Grant shrugged, “I don’t know. He just said that it was good that I had the courage to ask. I was surprised that he went along with like how he did. I guess he knows that we won’t try anything funny. I don’t know.”

“Well, at least he’s okay with it, that’s all that matters to me.” Skye turned around and began walking away from Grant, “I’ll meet back up with you in a bit, I’m gonna go get cleaned up. I’ll meet you in the kitchen, okay?”

“Ah, okay.” Grant said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I’ll go ahead and see if there’s anything I can make us.”

“Alright.”

Grant watched Skye with a budding feeling of anxiety starting to rise in his chest. He couldn’t believe it. He was actually going to go out on a  _ date  _ with her. He was actually going out with someone. Still, he found it extremely hard to believe that someone liked him as much as Skye did. 

_ “God, I hope I don’t screw this up.” _

* * *

  
  


(Later That Night)

 

Skye smiled at Grant, whom of which sat across the table from her. She looked around the restaurant, which was actually the burger place that they had gone for Grant’s birthday, before she looked back to him, “I’m freaking surprised that Coulson left us alone.” she commented. “Knowing him, I thought that he would be watching us like a hawk.”

“No, knowing him, he has this place bugged and is watching us through a secret camera hidden in the wall. He’s probably out sitting in his car somewhere watching us on a small monitor or something.” Grant retorted. “That’s more like him.”

Skye almost snorted, “Yeah, I think that you’re right. Still, I don’t see why he would worry about us. It’s not like we’re going to do anything.” she replied.

“I don’t think it’s about us trying something, it’s the fact that I’m out in public.” Grant stated, placing his hands on the wooden table. “He’s probably afraid that one little thing will go wrong and I’ll completely lose it. I’ve come a pretty long way in the past year or so. Maybe not as far as I need to be, but it’s still something. I can at least try to keep myself together long enough for us to eat.” he explained. “I may not like people, but I can at least do this.”

Skye smiled once more at him, “You’re doing perfectly fine. To be honest, I chose this place again ‘cause I knew that you were comfortable here.” She paused and quickly studied him. Grant hadn’t dressed fancily or anything. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt (which was a little too tight on him, but Skye didn’t mind that at all). His normally-spiked hair was slicked back and he was clean-shaven as well. 

“Honestly, I didn’t care to where we went at all.” she continued. “The only thing that mattered to me was that it was me and you together.”

Grant blushed and ducked his head, “A-At least you like it.” he stammered. He quickly looked down to his food and began picking at his fries, “I was so worried that you wouldn’t like it. I’ve been worrying for days.”

“Grant, you’re doing perfectly fine. Don’t worry, I love it. Besides, I’m not one much for big parties and stuff. I guess that if you grow up for so long without them, you really don’t care for them.” she tried to reassure him. “I’d rather do something with you than have a big party back at the base. And besides, are the other kids really my friends anymore?” she asked. “I mean, they’ve left me pretty much alone since I started hanging out with you.”

Grant shrugged, “Guess they were never really your friends if they abandoned you like that. And trust me, I know all about abandonment.” he answered, eating a fry. “Friends, or family, aren’t supposed to abandon you like that.”

“Well, I guess that you’re right. Besides, this is much more nicer than having a loud party.” she continued, picking up her burger and taking a bite out of it. “I’m still surprised that you actually asked me.”

“Well, I did want to do it before I leave next month.”

Skye’s face fell and she began to slowly put down her burger, “Oh, yeah. I forgot that you’re leaving.” she stated quietly. She looked to the side, “I really did.”

“I wanted to ask you while I had the chance. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to see you once I leave, especially once you get into the Academy as well.” Grant continued, not able to see the building sadness in Skye’s face. “It’s going to be a long four years. Well, no, five if you count the year difference between us I just wanted to ask now before we both get caught up with other things.”

Skye nodded slowly, “Yeah, that sounds reasonable.” she almost muttered. “It’s just that I forgot that we won’t really be able to see each other for a while.”

Grant’s hand shot out across the table and grabbed hers, almost startling her, “Skye, don’t you worry!” he exclaimed. “I’ll try my best to try and see you whenever I have the time! I don’t know how often that’ll be, but I’ll try!”

With a small smile, Skye looked back up to Grant, “And I’ll try as well. Maybe Coulson can help us there, I don’t know. I just don’t want us to lose contact at all while we’re away.”

Grant’s lips pulled into an almost sly smile, “Don’t worry, I don’t think that we will.” he stated. His smile grew bigger, “Come on, let’s just enjoy the meal and then maybe we can get Coulson to let us do a little something else afterwards. If it’s too late, we may can just watch a movie or something back at the base.”

Skye nodded, “That sounds good.”

Grant smiled again and began finishing up his burger, casting the occasional longing glance towards Skye. He had to admit, he was head over heels with her. He just didn’t exactly want to admit that to her. But then again, they  _ were  _ out on a date of all things, so maybe it was okay for him to admit that he did love her. But could he actually work up the courage to say that?

They spent the next half hour finishing up their meal as they talked about the most random things they could think of. To be honest, they loved to hear each other laugh. Skye probably loved Grant’s laugh the most, mainly because he didn’t do it often enough. He just happened to be in one of his good moods today. Those still didn’t happen enough.

And the sight of Coulson standing outside one of the restaurant's windows is what stopped them. Luckily, they already had finished eating by now. Grant frowned as he noticed the older man outside and pointed his way.

“Uh, Skye, I think that it’s time to go.” he stated. “Coulson’s right outside.”

“Huh?” Skye casted a brief glance at the window, looking back at Grant as she saw Coulson. “Aw, crap. I was hoping that we would get a little longer.”

“It is getting late. Coulson probably doesn’t want us out all night and he is the one driving us back to the base.”

Skye groaned and rolled her eyes, “Coulson’s not our father.” she huffed, standing to her feet.

Grant raised an eyebrow as he stood up as well, “Yeah? Well, he’s probably more my father than he is yours.” he replied. “And he probably wants to make sure that we don’t get confronted by thugs or something.”

“What?” Skye asked, stepping towards Grant. “Why would thugs attack us?”

“I don’t know. We’re teenagers. We’re probably easy targets for thugs.”

“Those thugs would die before they got anything from us.”

“Don’t remind me.” Grant sighed and took another look towards Coulson, whom of which was glaring at him impatiently. “Come on, we better go. Coulson’s giving me the stinkeye. I don’t wanna get in trouble tonight.”

“Such a goody-two-shoes.” Skye complained, sticking her tongue out at Grant. She got even closer to him. “Well, Grant, thanks for a good night. I really enjoyed it.”

Grant blushed once more, “Really? You liked it?!”

“Of course.”

“Well, I-”

Grant was cut off as Skye suddenly pulled him forward by his shirt and he found his lips connecting with hers. His eyes widened at first, but he eventually fell in line with it. Skye soon let him go and pulled away, finding Grant’s face completely red. She almost swore that she could see small wisps of light smoke rising from his face as well.

“W-What?” Grant stammered, unsure of what to say. “What was that?”

Skye’s lips curled into a smile, “A kiss. You don’t know what a kiss is?”

“Yeah, but….” He scratched at the back of his head again, “I mean, what? Uh?”

“I couldn’t say thank you for giving me a nice birthday?” Skye asked, her smile growing. “This kiss is my way of saying that I like you.”

“You do?!”

Skye almost snorted, “Of course I do, Grant! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t of had said yes to going on a date with you.” she retorted. “I really do like you.”

Grant blushed even harder, if that was even possible at this point, “Well, I-I like you, too!” he exclaimed. “I have for a while! I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that now, do you?”

“I guess not.” Grant trailed off and his eyes floated to the door. His eyes widened as he saw Coulson storming towards them, a scowl on his face. Grant pointed at him, “Uh, Skye? I-I don’t think that Coulson liked us kissing at all.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Skye asked, turning around. She almost yelped as she came face to face with an angry Coulson, whom of which grabbed her and Grant both and began practically dragging them out of the building. 

“Skye?”

“Yeah, Grant?” Skye called back as they were still being pulled outside by Coulson. It was clear that he didn’t like the fact that the two teenagers had just kissed. 

“Happy birthday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you finally have it! They're finally together! But that means the next chapter is when Grant leaves for the Academy. So that'll be interesting. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	24. Please Don't Say Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant leaves for the Academy!

(The Night Before Grant’s Departure)

Grant woke up with a start around 11 o’clock at night when his bedroom door slowly creaked open. He shot up, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness of his room. Who could possibly be coming into his room this late at night? Well, the sharp jostling of his mattress and the sudden appearance of a figure next to him in the bed immediately gave him the answer that he needed.

“Skye?” Grant asked groggily, rubbing at his eyes. He didn’t even bother to reach for the lamp on his bedside table, he could tell that Skye was settling into his sheets. “What are you doing in here this late?”

“I couldn’t sleep and I got lonely, so I came in here.” Skye answered, drawing up the sheets around her. 

“But in my bed?”

“Relax, it’s not like we’re trying anything.” she answered. “I just wanted to spend some more time with you before you left in the morning. And it’s not weird for us to be sleeping in the same bed together since we are best friends and we’re  _ dating _ .”

“Skye,” Grant stressed, going ahead and settling back down into his sheets anyways. “Coulson already doesn’t like the idea of us kissing. What will he do if he finds us in the same bed together?”

Skye poked him in the side with a finger, “You’ve gotta really stop worrying about what Coulson thinks. And like I said, we’re only sleeping for God’s sakes. Think of it as a sleepover of sorts, even though I sleep in the next room over.”

Grant took a sharp breath, turning his head to face Skye as he laid down in the bed. He could faintly make out her features in the darkness. “Fine. Let’s just hope that Coulson doesn’t storm in here tomorrow morning and finds us. He’ll be pissed.”

“I thought that you had to get up early anyways.”

“Yeah.”

“Then we’ll get up before Coulson has a chance to come in here.” Skye continued, scooting herself closer to Grant’s body. Even though it was August, she still got cold at night. She was trying to get as much of Grant’s body heat as possible. He was like her own personal heater. “I don’t see why he would have a problem with us sleeping in the same bed.”

“Well, I think his mind goes certain places.” Grant answered, his breath hitching slightly as Skye pressed up right against him. “Even though he should know that we wouldn’t ever try something like that.”

“Well, maybe when we’re older.” Skye further elaborated. “‘Cause I know that we’ll still be together even after the Academy. Ain’t nothing pulling us apart, I just know it.” She smiled as she buried her face into his firm chest. “I know that’s bold statement to say since we’re only teenagers, but I’ve got a really strong feeling.”

Grant could feel the blush start to rise to his face as he buried his head into Skye’s sweet smelling hair, “Hmmm?” He wrapped his arms around her to try and pull her even closer, if that was actually possible at this point. “You really think so?” he asked as they intertwined their legs together. 

“Of course, you idiot. I’ll always love you. You can trust me on that.”

“You don’t have to call me an idiot.” Grant mumbled into her hair. 

“But you’re my idiot.”

“I don’t like that word. It makes me sound bad. I wanna sound good.”

“Idiot doesn’t make you sound bad, Grant. I only call you that ‘cause you’re so goofy around me. That’s the only really why. Of course you’re good. Especially since you’ve come a long way in the past almost year and a half.” Skye explained into his chest. “Just think, when you first arrived you could hardly even function on your own. Now you’re going into the Academy and you’re going to become a SHIELD agent.”

“I don’t think I’ve come that far.”

“Grant, I speak the truth. You’re so much better now. I mean, you do still have quite a few nightmares, but your depressive episodes have decreased a good bit.”

“I think that that’s just my medicine.”

“No, it’s all you. Just medicine didn’t do that. You’ve healed a good bit, Grant, no matter how much you don’t want to admit it.” Skye stated firmly. “Yes, you probably will never fully heal from what happened, but you’ve still come a long ways.”

And Skye was honestly telling the truth. Grant would never fully come back from his trauma. There had been physical damage in addition to mental and emotional damage. At first, the doctor said that he would never act his age, and they still believed that a year and a half later. Because of the damage, Grant would be prone to emotional slips when things got too much for him. Even though Coulson knew that Grant could handle becoming a SHIELD agent, but he still had his worries. And so did Skye.

“You sure that I’ll be okay?” Grant asked, wrapping his arms tighter around Skye. 

“Yeah, I’m completely sure. And you’ll be the best damn agent that SHIELD’s ever had.”

* * *

  
  


(The Next Morning)

Grant lugged his suitcase out of his room, rolling it down the hallway towards where Coulson wanted him to meet him and Skye. His heart was racing about a hundred miles an hour. To be honest, he was so afraid for the Academy. He really didn’t know what the Academy all entailed, many because he was going through such a different course than everyone that would be in his year. 

He was supposed to finish up two years of high school in addition to his SHIELD studies. Even though it would be a hell of a lot of work, Grant would most definitely be able to do it. He was incredibly smart and had no trouble at all with school. So the Academy’s studies would be nothing to him. And even the training as well. He was so much stronger and faster than any of the cadets going in. Training would be a piece of cake. 

Grant’s true fear was being off on his own. He was afraid of what would happen if he freaked out or whatnot. He didn’t have Skye or Coulson there to try and calm him down. He had to learn how to calm himself down. He couldn’t be a SHIELD agent that had to rely on others to calm him down, especially since he was training to be a specialist. He would work alone.

The boy thought of what he’d be doing for the next few days. Coulson would get him to the Academy today, where of which he would settle into his room. Usually, cadets would have a roommate, kind of like college. But Grant had special accommodations because of his mental state and his powers. He would live alone as well.

Now, Grant didn’t mind this one bit. The only two people he wanted to be around were Skye and Coulson, so no one else mattered. 

Tomorrow, he had orientation. Orientation was where all the first year cadets were placed in a huge auditorium at the Academy and listened to some higher-up SHIELD agent speak. If they were lucky, it was sometimes either the deputy director or even the director himself. Grant really didn’t care about that crap. And, honestly, he didn’t want to be stuck in a room with dozens of other cadets, most of which would probably wash out in a year or two. Grant just looked forward to the day after tomorrow, which was when he started his classes. 

He sighed as he rolled his suitcase down the hall, ignoring the glances of various agents. There wasn’t much more to go until he got to the meeting place, he could actually see Coulson and Skye standing off in the distance. He quickened up his pace and got there in a matter of no time.

Coulson smiled as the young boy came rushing up, “Hold your horses, Grant.” he laughed. “I see that someone’s excited.”

Grant half-shrugged, “Kind of. I just don’t like the prospect of being around that many other people.” he admitted. 

“Well, you’re not training to work with them at all. They’ll be your classmates, but that’s about it.” Coulson stated, taking Grant’s bag for him. “So you’ll be fine. And you’ll be kind of seperated from the others due to your, well, special case, so there shouldn’t be all that much outside interaction.”

“Alright.” Grant looked towards Skye, whom of which was smiling at him. “Sorry, Skye, I guess that this is goodbye for now.”

Skye launched herself forward and wrapped her arms around him, “Don’t get yourself hurt, Grant! I want you to be safe! And I promise that I’ll try my best to come and see you as much as possible!” she exclaimed.

Coulson nodded, “I’ll try to work some things out so you two can see each other. The higher-ups know just how much you mean to one another.” he stated. “And I don’t want to cut your goodbyes short, but we do need to get going, Grant. It is quite a drive to the Academy.”

Grant smiled at Skye and leaned in to give her a kiss, which lasted for a few long seconds. Coulson grimaced as he watched the two teenagers kiss one another, he ended up averting his gaze.

“I love you, Skye.” Grant said, giving her a hug as well. “I’ll try to call you somehow when I get there, okay?”

Skye nodded, “You better, I’m gonna miss your voice as soon as you step out of this building.” she answered vehemently. “And I love you, too.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get going before it gets too late.” Coulson cut in, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Come on, Grant.”

“Bye, Skye.” Grant said, backing up to follow Coulson as he waived at the girl. “I’ll see you later.”

She waved back, trying to hold back the tears that were starting to build in her eyes, “Bye, Grant. Don’t get yourself into any trouble, you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

And with that, Grant walked off down the hallway with Coulson, towards his new future.

And he left Skye standing there worrying to whether or not he could actually handle it all or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And you can say that this is the end of the first part of the story. The second half should move much faster since it covers the four years of Grant's Academy time and about two years or so afterwards. But it'll still be good. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	25. And This Fight Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months into the Academy and Grant's not doing so well.

(About Three Months Later)

Skye went into her room with a sigh. She had been with her tutor just about all day working on her schoolwork. Honestly, she didn’t know why SHIELD put such a heavy course load on her. She knew that she could handle it and it wasn’t all that hard, it was just the fact that it was a lot of work. That and her mind was basically always on Grant. 

It was now just into November and Grant had been gone for three months now. Skye was almost constantly worried that something would happen to her. She had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before something freaked him out and he went into some kind of rampage or something. And with Grant, there was truly no telling to what would happen if he got freaked out or someone happened to piss him off. 

Grant wasn’t really supposed to be around others, that’s why he was on the specialist track. The only classes he had where he would be around others would be his more basic classes. Once he got into the training that dealt more with his powers and being a specialist, he would get more individual attention.

But there was still that amount of time where he was in the basic classes. He really wasn’t separated from the non-gifted cadets there. Once they found out what he was and what he can do, he would be a prime target for bullying. And both Skye and Coulson knew that Grant probably wouldn’t be able to handle that at all. Skye just had a really bad feeling that he would break soon enough.

She just didn’t know that it would be today.

Skye had just gotten onto her bed when she could faintly make out Coulson’s voice somewhere in the hallway outside of her room. He sounded extremely panicked and Skye immediately knew what was really going on.

Something had happened with Grant.

“Listen, just try to keep him in his room. He should be okay as long as he’s not wandering around in that state. I’ll try to get there as fast as I can, but it’s about two hours between here and there. But just try to keep him confined to his room.” There were a few moments of silence before Coulson spoke again, “Shit, I didn’t think that it would happen this soon. It’s only been three months.”

Skye didn’t waste no time to see if Coulson actually came to talk to her or not, she was immediately running out the door. Coulson was taken aback by the sight of Skye running towards him, he really didn’t want to tell her what was going on with Grant. He didn’t want her to worry.

“What’s going on?” Skye asked, worrying already filling her voice. “It’s Grant, isn’t it?’

Coulson sighed and nodded slowly, “Unfortunately, it is. I’ve got to go to the Academy now and try to help him. Some other cadet started teasing him about something, I’m not sure of what, and Grant completely snapped and freaked out. He’s got himself holed up in his dorm room, I don’t know what’s going to happen.” he tried to explain.

“Did he hurt anyone?”

Coulson shook his head, “No, I think it’s like the last time he flipped out when I angered him. He’s just scared. But now that’s he’s alone in a place he has no friends, he may be even worse this time around.”

“Let me go with you.” Skye blurted out, not waiting for Coulson to say anything else to her. “You may not be enough to get him calmed back down.”

“Skye, I,” Coulson began to protest, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t think,”

“You don’t think what?” Skye sharply asked, cutting Coulson off. “You don’t want me to go? It’s not like I’m going to hurt him or anything.”

“Look, it’s not that. Truly it isn’t. There are some things that you don’t need to see and I think that it’s better that you don’t see him like this.” he admitted. “And I know that he wouldn’t want you to see this either.”

“I can help him, Coulson!” she almost screamed, getting irritated that the older man wouldn’t let her go see her boyfriend. “He needs more help than just you!”

Coulson’s eyes widened as the ground beneath him gave a quick lurch. He sighed and raised his hands in defeat, “Alright, you can come. As long as you can promise me that you will help to get him calmed down.”

“Of course I will.” 

“Hurry up and go get your jacket.” Coulson said in a defeated tone. “We need to get there as fast as we can before Grant can do some real damage.”

* * *

  
  


(A Couple of Hours Later)

Coulson and Skye were met by a few guards as they approached Grant’s dorm room. Now, Coulson was surprised that there was this much security outside of Grant’s room, but he had told them to make sure that nothing happened to the boy. He frowned as one of the guards stepped forward. 

“You Agent Coulson?” he asked, looking the man up and down.

Coulson nodded briskly, “I am. You need to see my ID?” he questioned.

“No, mainly since you’ve already gotten this far into the building and I know that you wanna go ahead and check on the boy.” The guard paused and turned to look at Skye, “Who’s this?”

“This is, uh, Cadet Ward’s girlfriend, another kid from the base I work at.” Coulson answered. “She’s with me.”

The guard narrowed his eyes and nodded, “Alright. Follow me. Now, I honestly don’t know what’s going on in that room.” he began,, leading the two to the closed door. “We’ve been positioned here ever since the kid holed himself up in there. That’s been about three hours ago. I think I’ve heard crying in there, but I’m not sure.” He paused right at Grant’s door and unlocked it with a keycard. “So you better prepare yourself. We’ll be out here just in case anything happens.”

“Hopefully nothing will happen.” Coulson stated carefully walking inside of the room with Skye.

Now, the room was completely dark except for the faint glow of flames in the far corner of the room. As Coulson studied it, he could tell that the flames faintly resembled the shape of a person. No sounds other than the crackling of fire could be heard from it.

“Grant?” he called softly. “It’s Coulson and Skye. We’re here to see if you’re alright. Look, you’ve done nothing wrong at all. The other cadet is to blame. You can’t help that you were bullied.” 

Only silence greeted him in response.

Coulson took a deep breath and moved towards the side table that held a lamp, “Grant, I’m going to turn on a light, okay? We need to see what is going on.” he said quietly, flipping on the small light. 

The light illuminated the room and they could see Grant huddled up in the corner with small flames flickering off of him. His eyes were wide and glowing red, and there was a telltale shake to his body. He also rocked back and forth slightly. Coulson knew that he was completely out of it

The older man casted a brief glance towards Skye, whom of which looked completely worried Skye shook her head and stepped forward towards Grant.

“I’ll try to talk to him.” she stated quietly. “I know that he can’t hurt me, so I won’t get burned if something happens.”

She didn’t wait for a response from Coulson before she made her way over towards Grant and crouched down right next to him. “Grant? Sweetheart? Can you hear me? It’s Skye. Nothing’s going to hurt you anymore, okay?” she called lightly. “It was just someone being stupid, that’s all.”

Grant didn’t respond. 

“Skye, just give him some time, alright?” Coulson stated from his spot across the room. “He may just need some time to process things and calm down.”

Skye shrugged and began to study Grant.  _ God _ , he had gotten huge. He was even muscular than he had been when he had left for the Academy. There was no telling to what kind of training he had gone through in the past three months, but it had been enough to practically turn him into a brute.

“Grant,” she began again. “It’s okay. Just calm down. I,”

“Leave me alone.” Grant suddenly cut in, his voice small and full of fear. He almost sounded like a small child. “I didn’t do anything.”

Skye blinked and quickly looked back towards Coulson before looking back to him, “Of course you didn’t do anything, Grant. What are you,”

“Don’t hurt me.” Grant began to curl up into a ball on the floor, the flames flickering out. “I didn’t do anything. Don’t hurt me, Momma.”

Skye’s stomach fell as gears started to churn in her head. He was  _ really  _ out of it. It seemed as though he was hallucinating something to do with his mom. The very same mom that had abused him. Grant had told her about it, what he could actually handle. His mother was the one that would beat him and his siblings senseless. His father was just a drunk that didn’t care one way or the other.

“Momma, please don’t hit me. Don’t hit Tommy either. We were just playing.” Grant began to sob, his massive form beginning to shake even more. “Please don’t hit us.”

Skye could feel the tears stinging in her eyes. It hurt to see the sixteen year old boy practically revert back to a little kid all because he had got into a bad panic. It truly showed just how much Grant’s parents screwed him over throughout the course of his childhood. 

“Grant, your mom’s not here. She can’t hurt you anymore.” Skye tried to reassure him. “It’s just me and Coulson. If anything, Coulson’s your real parent.” She reached out and ran a gentle hand down his muscular arm, “No one here is going to hurt you.”

Grant tensed up underneath Skye’s touch, “Don’t touch me.” he whimpered. “Don’t touch me. I don’t wanna hurt.”

“Grant, it’s just me. It’s Skye.” she whispered, making sure that her touch was soft and gentle. “You know that I won’t hurt you. I just want to know if you’re okay.”

After a while, Grant’s body relaxed and his head turned towards her, his whiskey-brown eyes staring straight at her, “Skye?” he croaked. “Skye?”

Skye smiled at him, “Yeah, it’s me.” she stated, trying to help him up.

Grant sat up and leaned up against her, which almost crushed her. “Skye.” he whimpered. “Scared.”

“I know you are, but you’re okay now. Look, do you think you can get to the bed? Maybe laying down will help a bit.”

He nodded slowly. 

Coulson came over and helped Skye to get the kid up. They slowly walked him over to the bed and he laid down and slightly curled back up again.

Coulson looked towards Skye, “Look, I need to probably go clear a few things up with his advisor. Do you think you’ll be okay here with him?” he asked. “I guess that he’s okay now. He may just need to sleep and he’ll probably need to see his therapist again soon.”

Skye nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be fine here. I may lay down with him if he goes to sleep.” she answered, looking at Grant’s curled-up form. “Do you think that he’ll want to stay here?”

The older man shrugged, “I hope he does. He was so enthusiastic about becoming an agent, I don’t want him to give up now. But I won’t fight it if he does.” He sighed, “I’m gonna go ahead and find his advisor.” He walked out of the room and left Skye standing there next to the bed. 

With a sigh, Skye crawled in right next to Grant. She could already tell that he had fallen asleep. She just hoped that he would sleep off the panic attack and whatever the hell that hallucination had been. Hell, she wanted to forget that herself. 

She laid there for a good while before Grant suddenly turned over and buried himself into her. He was still asleep, but he was trying to get as close to her as he could. Skye smiled and carefully moved his arm and draped it over her. Grant let out a moan and in return pulled her closer.

“Look, Grant,” Skye began in a small whisper. “I don’t know what the hell all that was, but you’ll be okay. I know it. You’ll become that mighty SHIELD agent that you want to be and you’ll prove your parents wrong. Don’t let this one thing ruin that for you, alright? We’re gonna be superheroes one day, remember?” she asked. 

“You’ve gotta be that superhero. You’re not what your parents think you are.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's only been three months and Grant's already had an incident, and about his worst one yet. At least he's calmed down, but it's only a matter if he's okay or not when he wakes up. And if he wants to stay. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	26. You're Perfect in Every Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant wakes up after his incident.

(A Few Hours Later)

Skye’s breath hitched in her chest as she felt Grant shuffle and hear him moan from behind her. Was he waking up? He had been asleep for the past few hours since he had passed out on his bed after his incident, if that’s what you could call it. Skye really hoped that he would be okay once he did wake up, she didn’t want him to be wanting to leave the Academy even though he had only been there about three months.

Grant made some kind of unintelligible noise before she felt him pull away from her and felt the bed jostle underneath his weight.

“Skye?” he asked, confusing heavily lacing his voice. “What are you doing here?”

Skye sat up and turned to see Grant sitting up and looming over her. His cadet uniform was ruffled and there were heavy bag underneath his dulled-out eyes. He ran a hand over his closely-shaved head and blinked at Skye.

“I came here with Coulson.” she answered softly, smiling slightly as Grant scooted closer to her. “Something happened with you, do you not remember that?”

Grant frowned, “No? Am I supposed to remember?” he asked. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to remember, but his mind was nothing but a jumbled mess of the day’s events. His stomach dropped as he put two and two together, despite not being able to really remember what happened, “I lost it, didn’t I?” His voice was low and broken.

And Skye honestly didn’t know what to say without making him feel bad, but he deserved to know what happened. “Not exactly, but you did snap. Apparently some other cadet was teasing you and it caused you to snap and go into a panic. You locked yourself in your room and wouldn’t let anyone near you. They had to call me and Coulson.”

His eyes dropped to the bedspread, “How bad was it?” he asked meekly. “Did I hurt anyone?”

She shook her head, “No, you didn’t hurt anyone, but the panic was pretty bad. When I got in here to try and help you, you were hallucinating pretty badly. It was actually really scary.” she explained. “Luckily I got you out of it and you ended up falling asleep.”

“Shit.” Grant spat, dragging a hand down his face. “I don’t even want to know what the hallucination was about, so don’t even bother telling me.”

“Trust me, it’s better that you don’t know about it.”

“At least it wasn’t my rage. I could’ve killed someone, just like those agents last year.” Grant sounded weary and defeated. “But this only proves that I’m far too broken to function properly. I can’t be a hero like this, Skye.”

Skye’s stomach dropped and she reached for one of his hands, “Grant, please don’t give up all because of this. It was nowhere as bad as it could’ve been.” she began.

“But what if it had of been?” Grant cut it, giving her a harsh stare. “What if someone had of died? I’d be locked-up right now and everyone would be calling me a monster right now. It won’t take much for that to happen, Skye. Just face it, I may not be a complete monster now, but it’ll happen sooner or later. One day, something will happen and I’ll become the monster that I’m supposed to be.”

“Grant, you’re not a monster at all. And you’ll never be a monster. Just because you have powers and you had a shitty childhood doesn’t mean that you’re a monster.” Skye tried to convince him, looking him straight in the eyes. “I think that you would be a monster if you hurt and kill people for your own purpose, but you don’t do that. You’re not one at all, Grant.”

“Then why can’t anyone figure out what the hell I am, Skye?” Grant asked bitterly. “The closest anyone’s come to figuring it out has marked me as a demon. And what are demons? They’re monsters.” A brief flash of red light sparked in his eyes. “They’ve never been the good guys.”

“Until the day you sprout horns and a tail, I won’t believe any of what the scientists say, Grant.” Skye stated, giving him a small smile. “I say that you’re just a human with some pretty special abilities, that’s all.”

“Then why doesn’t all of my DNA register as human?”

Skye put a finger over his lips, “Quit talking about it. So who really cares that you’re not fully human or not? That only makes you extra special.” She smiled again.

Grant raised an eyebrow, “Apparently that cadet who harassed me did.” he commented lightly, moving Skye’s hand away from his mouth.

“Look, me and Coulson don’t care that you’re not fully human.”

“You don’t care because you’re not fully human either.”

“Does it matter?”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t.” She scooted closer to him, allowing him to wrap his massive arms around her. “What you are doesn’t matter, it’s who you are that truly does. That’s why you need to become a hero and prove that you’re not what your genetics make you out to be. The whole world believes that people with powers are abominations, but if you use them for good, you can prove them all wrong.”

Grant laughed slightly, but it was mainly a sad-sounding one, “You sure have a hell of a lot of faith in me, Skye.” he commented. “I’m not sure to whether or not that’s a good thing.”

Skye looked up and kissed him on the chin, “It’s a good thing. Anyways, let’s stop talking about all of this and let’s mention the fact that you got  _ huge. _ ”she said, smiling as she heard him laugh.

“Let’s just say that the training program here is hell, but I can handle it.” Grant replied, bringing Skye into his lap. “I guess that plus an augmented biology equals me really bulking on the muscle. I assume that you like it?” He tightly wrapped his now highly-muscular arms around her, causing her to giggle. 

“Of course I do. But I do have one complaint about your new look though.”

“And what’s that?”

Skye scooted out of his lap and turned around. She ran a hand over his closely-shaved head, “Where the hell did all of your hair go?” she asked.

“All male cadets have to have very short hair.” Grant answered, blushing as Skye looked him up and down. “So my hair wasn’t quite the regulation length.”

“Aw,” Skye faked pouted. “I liked the spiky look.” 

“I guess that SHIELD doesn’t. I’m technically a soldier, so I guess that’s where it comes from.” Grant explained. He reached out and ran a hand through Skye’s soft hair, “But I think that your hair is safe, though. Mainly since you’re not going into Operations. I don’t think that Communications really cares about the cadets’ hairstyles all that much.”

“Well, then that’s one good thing.”

“But if they do try to change your hair, I will try to fight against that. Your hair is perfect the way it is.” 

“It’ll take that as a compliment.”

Grant reached out and brought her closer again. He then pulled her down to the bed and she snuggled in close to his chest. “But, I also think that you’re perfect in every single way possible.There’s no one better than you.”

Skye blushed against Grant’s chest. “You’re also perfect as well, Grant. No matter what you think. You’ll always be perfect to me, no matter what happens.”

“At least one person believes in me like that.”

“Well, you do need it.” 

They both grew quiet for a while before Skye spoke up again, breaking the silence.

“Do you think we should go find Coulson?” she asked. “He’s probably worried sick about you and thinks you’re still sleeping.”

Grant sighed and sat up, “I suppose so. I don’t want him to worry. And I know that he worries just a little too much.” He slid off the bed and turned to help Skye up as well, “ I know that he just wants the best for me, but it’s honestly a little overbearing sometimes.”

Skye got up off the bed and took one of Grant’s hands, “He just really cares for the both of us, Grant. That’s all.”

“I know. Let’s go find him before he gives himself an ulcer over me. I still don’t see why I’m all that important.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note, my finals for my classes are next week, so I probably will not update this until next weekend. But after then, everything should be on a consistent schedule for a while. Anyways, Grant wakes up and seems okay other than he can't remember what happened and his self-esteem is way down. So that is good. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (And I may or may not do a Christmas oneshot later.)


	27. Of Venegence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant has a good talk about his issues.

Coulson looked up as the room’s door swung open and the distinct smell of sulfur wafted into the room. He didn’t even have to look up to know that Grant was the one that walked into the room; he always smelled of sulfur after using his powers. Coulson casted a quick glance to the man sitting across from him at the table they were at, whom of which was Grant’s advisor, before turning to look at the door.

A smile grew on Coulson’s face as he saw both Grant and Skye standing in the doorway of the room. He waved at them to come on in, “Hey, Grant. How are you feeling?” he asked as the two sat down at the table.

Grant shrugged, “I’ve been better. Luckily, I can’t remember much about what happened.” he replied, scratching at the back of his head. “Skye says that I didn’t hurt anyone, so that’s good.”

Coulson nodded, “It indeed is.” he commented. “But there are a few issues with what happened though.” He looked over to Grant’s advisor.

“Wait, what?” Grant cut in, raising an eyebrow. His stomach dropped, “You’re not kicking me out, are you?”

“Oh, no. No, we wouldn’t possibly do that, Grant.” his advisor stated, giving him a sincere smile. “You’re already too valuable of a cadet for us to kick you out. It would be another story if you were doing all of this deliberately, but you’re not. There’s just a few things that Agent Coulson and I decided upon.”

Grant quickly looked over to Skye before looking back to the man, “Yes, Agent Wilheim?” he asked. “What are they?”

“We really don’t want to do this, but we think that we may need to increase your therapy regimen and introduce you into some kind anger management thing.” Wilheim began to explain. “If you can handle it.”

“Anger management?” Grant asked with a frown, “Sir, but I didn’t snap in anger at that cadet, he just made me go into a panic.”

“I know that, Grant. Consider it a preventive measure. If you learn to control that rage of yours now, then it could prevent something happening in the future.” Wilheim tried to answer. “Coulson and I do want to see you graduate from the Academy in four years. I’m afraid if that rage does end up getting the best of you, someone in SHIELD will try to have you imprisoned where we keep monsters. And you are far from a monster, just a victim of poor circumstance.”

“Can he really handle extra therapy with all of his coursework and training?” Skye asked, placing a hand on Grant’s thigh.

“Well, that’s up for Grant to decide.”

Grant frowned, “Well, it’s already so much right now, but I’m handling everything really well so far. I don’t how I wouldn’t be able to handle extra therapy.” He scratched at his chin, “If I need the extra therapy, then I’ll do it. You’re right, I do need to get a rein on my anger before something bad happens. I don’t want my anger to control me.” He paused and looked down to his legs, “But, honestly, I wish there was someway to take my anger out on something sometimes.”

Coulson blinked and raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Well, I know this is going to sound pretty bad, but I sometimes wish that there was an actual person that I could rage on.” Grant continued sheepishly.

“You aren’t referring to your family, are you?” Wilheim asked cautiously, watching as Skye reached for Grant’s hand. 

Grant shrugged, “Sometimes. Every now and then I wish I could manage to face Christian or my parents again just to beat the shit out of them, to turn the tables on them.” He paused and shook his head, “But I know that, in this case, that violence isn’t going to help anything here It’ll only prove to them what they already believe. I just want to have someway to make them pay for what they did to me.”

“Yeah, Grant, I don’t think that sheer violence would be the answer there.” Skye agreed, smiling slightly as Grant began to play with her hand. “There’s got to be some other way to get back at them.”

“Like I said before, they tried their complete hardest to cover it up and Grant’s father has way too many political connections and too much power for SHIELD to try and pursue a charge.” Coulson began, shaking his head. “And then others will start to wonder why a child is in SHIELD custody….” He sighed, “I don’t want Grant to get outed like that. This world just isn’t accustomed to gifteds like it needs to be.”

Grant looked away to a corner of the room where he couldn’t see any eyes looking at him. He sometimes hated people looking at him, and now was one of those times. He figured that it was something to do with his anxiety or his paranoia. 

“Maybe I can do something when I’m older and a full-fledged SHIELD agent.” Grant meekly stated, still looking away from everyone else. “Hopefully then I wouldn’t be afraid to face them again. And then I could do something that would ruin their careers or something.” He looked back to Coulson, “Imagine if it came out in a few years that Senator Richard Ward and his wife used to be child abusers. No one would support or reelect my father at all. And I know that Christian is pursuing a career in politics, so maybe I can ruin that too. I really don’t know at this point.”

Skye looked at him with the slightest of smiles, “Wow, you’re really petty, Grant.” she stated. “Didn’t think that a plan like that would come from you.”

He shrugged once more, “Well, it’s better than trying to kill them.” he answered, scooting his chair a little closer to her. “I don’t want to stoop down to their level. I’m gonna be a hero, remember?”

“You better be.”

Coulson sighed and shook his head. He figured that he better interrupt now before the two kids started bickering with one another. “Alright, that’s enough of that already.” He looked down at his watch, “Unfortunately, Skye, it’s time for us to head back to the base. It’s starting to get late and we’ve got a long drive ahead of us. And I bet that Grant needs his sleep before he resumes his classes in the morning.”

Skye pretty much pouted, “But I don’t want to leave.” she began to protest, crossing her arms over her chest. “There’s no telling when I’ll be able to see Grant again. I don’t want it ending up being another three months or even longer.”

“Well,” Coulson paused and briefly looked over to Wilheim, “We’ll see what we can do, but I don’t know when Grant will have time to have a break. Today was just a special case.” he explained the best he could. “Since Grant also has to complete his high school classes in addition to his SHIELD classes and training and his therapy, he’s always at it.”

“Yeah, the only times I have breaks are when I’m eating or sleeping.” Grant added on. “I know that it seems like too much for me to handle, but I’ll be okay.” He waved a dismissive hand, “It’s only for four years, I’ll be fine.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Grant, you don’t need to be overworking yourself.” she began. “You,”

“Skye, relax. I handled literal hell for five years, this is nothing compared to that.” he cut in. “You don’t have to worry about me right now, you’ve got yourself to worry about. You go into the Academy next year, so I think you need to focus on that and not me for a while. I’ll be fine. I think that I can handle myself for a while.” He gave her a smile, but Skye sensed that there was a bit of uncertainty hidden within it.

Skye sighed and shook her head, deciding not to elaborate on the subject anymore. One other thing she had learned about Grant in the year and a half that she had known his was that he tended to be pretty stubborn sometimes. If he believed that he was going to be fine, there was no changing his mind about that unless something happened. 

Coulson laughed and stood to his feet, “Well, Skye, say your goodbyes to Grant, we really do need to get going.” he stated. “And please don’t be overly dramatic about it.”

“What do you mean?” Skye asked, her eyes narrowed at the older agent as she stood up. “I’m never that dramatic.”

“Are you sure about that?” Grant asked, appearing in front of her. “You sometimes are. And by sometimes, I mean a lot.”

Skye just stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Alright, you two. Skye, we really need to get going.” Coulson warned. 

Skye rolled her eyes as well and pretty much immediately threw her arms around Grant, “I’ll miss you, Grant. Especially when I don’t know when we’ll see one another again.” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I love you.” 

Grant smiled and leaned down to kiss her, “I love you, too.” he said in a quick break in the kiss. The kiss lasted a good several, long seconds before a cough from Coulson broke it up. 

The two teens looked to see the older man frowning at them, a slight blush on his face. “I don’t have time for this.” he stressed. He really didn’t like them kissing like this. “Skye,  _ come on. _ ” 

Skye sighed and pulled away from Grant’s embrace, “Sorry, but Mr. Buzzkill over there wants me to go. I’ll see ya’ whenever it’s possible. And you better not look any different when we meet up next.”

“I’ll try not to?”

The next thing Skye knew was that Coulson was dragging her from the room, “Bye, Grant!” she exclaimed. “I still love you!”

“I love you, too!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically you get from this is that Grant's anger is a serious issue, he would like to get vengeance for what his parents did to him, and he and Skye are lovebirds head over heels with one another even though they're still only teens. I hoped that you liked! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	28. And I'm a Survivor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A run-in with another cadet proves Grant's anger is a force to be reckoned with.

( A Few Months Later)

Grant looked up with a frown as he could hear the door to the gym open up. He turned from the punching bag, wondering to just why someone was coming into the gym. He made sure that no one was going to come in here for next couple of hours. He  _ was  _ supposed to be the only one in here. The rest of his cadet class had been sent on some kind of team-building exercise, one that he was exempt from because of his tendency to break down in large groups. So he  _ was  _ supposed to be the only cadet left in the freshman building. 

He frowned even more as he saw one of his older classmates coming into the gym with a sneer on his face. The downside of only being 17 in the Academy was that  _ everyone  _ was older than him. Most first-year cadets were in their early twenties, either coming in after the military or something else. 

And the thing was, most of his classmates hated him because he was younger. Not because of his powers or anything, because those were kept a secret from most, but the fact that he was just a teenager. They hated that someone so much younger than them was far superior to them in every aspect of the Academy. Grant was number one in his class, and everyone else absolutely hated him for it. And Grant tended to ignore the hate, mainly since he kept to himself. But there were a few cadets that tried to get all in Grant’s face, just like the one that just came into the gym.

“Dawson.” Grant almost spat, turning back to the back. “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be on that trip or something.”

“I bailed on that. I hate team-building exercises anyway.” Dawson chided, clearly looking to pick a fight with Grant.

“And you do realize once the instructors find that you skipped, you will get in trouble, right?” Grant asked, staring at the bag. “Not like I care or anything.”

“And why aren’t you on the trip?” Dawson shot back, grabbing Grant by the shoulder and yanking him away from the bag. “All first-years are supposed to be on it.”

“The higher-ups exempted me from it.” Grant deadpanned, looking down on Dawson. Of course he was looking down, he was a couple inches taller than him and a whole lot more bulkier. “So I’m spending my free time in here.”

Dawson growled and snarled at Grant, “I don’t understand why the higher-ups act like you’re so special. They treat you entirely different than us. You get in a fight, you don’t get in trouble. You get exempted from a lot of things. They act like you’re some kind of Godsend while, honestly, you’re just a piece of shit.” he spat.

Grant didn’t flinch, but he could feel his heart start to race and the heat start to rise in his finger tips, “I work as hard as everyone else, if not harder. I do all my required SHIELD courses while finishing up high school, and I’m still number one in the entire class of like a hundred or so cadets.” he sneered. He tended to get a little arrogant when he was trying to subdue his anger for some reason. “And to top it all off, I have to go through several sessions of therapy each week on top of all that work. I think I do my own share.”

Dawson’s eyes widened, “Therapy? So you’re fuckin’ crazy then.” he stated. “Why would SHIELD let in a nutcase?”

“I’m not crazy.” Grant stated coldly. “I just have a few issues, that’s all. I’m working through them. And that’s not your concern anyways, okay?”

“Oh, I think it’s my concern if I want to know if one of my classmates is a fuckin’ psycho or not.”

A muscle twitched in Grant’s face.  _ “Take deep breaths, Grant. Do what the counselor told you to do in situations like this. Don’t let your anger take control, that will only make the flames do what they want to do. _ ” he thought, remaining silent.

Dawson noticed the anger brewing in Grant’s eyes, “Oh, I’m sorry, did I hit a sore spot with you?” he asked mockingly, faking sympathy. “Does that mean you are indeed a psycho?”

“I’m not the psycho here. The psycho is the guy who currently thinks he can take on a cadet that’s taller and much more muscular than him.” Grant spat, grabbing the cadet by the collar of his uniform and pulling him close. “I could snap you in two in a fucking heartbeat. You really want to try me?” he hissed. “I hate people like you. I hate people that try to take advantage of others like you do. Why is it that you hate me so damn much?”

“Okay, I’m definitely right about the psycho part.” Dawson snorted, giving Grant a nasty sneer. “But do you really want to know why I hate you?”

“I’m all ears.”

“You come in here and everyone acts like you’re so damn special.” he began. “I know for a fact that the instructors make things easier for you because you have some kind of ‘condition’. Someone like you doesn’t belong here.” 

Grant hissed and hoisted the cadet farther into the air, “Maybe I do have a ‘condition’, but it makes me no less a capable cadet than everyone else in this damned Academy.” he began. “You try being abused for fifteen years of your life, spending five of those locked away in your own basement just because your parents were afraid of you. I was nothing but skin and bone when SHIELD found me. I almost died. And maybe I was left with a handful of mental issues that disrupts my day to day life. That’s why I stay away from everyone else.”

“I,” Dawson began, but he was cut off as Grant slammed him to the ground and loomed over him. 

“I deserve to be here as much as everyone else, if not more. I’m treated differently because I  _ am  _ different.” Grant continued. “It’s people like you who prey on the weak that make things so much harder for me to deal with.” There was a slight crack to his voice. “I’ve suffered for so damn long, and you’re not making it any easier. And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that I survive. I really don't care what happens to pieces of shit like you.”

Dawson’s eyes widened and he scampered back on the floor, seeing some kind of hellish, red light start to gleam in Grant’s enraged eyes, “Y-You’re a monster.” he stammered.

Grant sneered and leaned down towards the frightened cadet, unaware of why he was actually afraid of him, “No, I’m a  _ survivor. _ ” he spat, baring his teeth at Dawson. 

Dawson’s eyes suddenly shrunk in fear and he jumped up with a yelp and ran out of the gym, leaving Grant to himself.

“Huh, wonder why he ran like that?” Grant asked himself, breathing deeply to try and get his anger to subside. “I’m not  _ that  _ scary. I just wanted him to get out of my face. Did I overdo it?” He shrugged and returned back to the bag, “Oh well, at least he’s gone.”

He returned to his steady beat on the bag,  _ “Wonder what scared the shit out of him? I only threw him to the ground and yelled at him. Did my eyes glow red? Maybe, but that couldn’t be enough to send a cadent like him into a bad panic.” _ he thought. He stopped and frowned, looking down to his hands,  _ “Wait, so what did he see? I know that it wasn’t the flames, I would’ve noticed them for sure. It had to be something else.” _

Grant turned and walked towards the long mirror that hung on one of the gym’s walls. He took off his sweat-drenched shirt and threw it aside.  _ “Just look at me.” _ he thought. He leaned in close and studied his reflection. There was a faint red tinge on the corners of his irises,  _ “Hell, maybe it was just my eyes. Maybe he’s just a wuss afterall. Huh, bet Skye would probably be drooling all over me if she were here right now. But I don’t get to see her until the summer. Got to see her at Christmas, at least that happened.” _

He continued to study his reflection until his attention was drawn to a black-colored bruise situated at the base of his neck, just above his right collarbone. He poked at it, _ “This wasn’t there earlier. Where’d this come from? And aren’t bruises supposed to be purplish, not almost black?” _ He let his arm fall to his side,  _ “Maybe I really am crazy. I don’t know. It’s only lunch and it’s already been one hell of a day. Guess I should just go shower and get me something to eat. I’ll go read in my dorm or something. I just need to relax now. Don’t need to get angry again, that won’t do anyone any good at all.” _

He turned and picked up his t-shirt, failing to notice the glaring image that was now in the mirror behind him. The black ‘bruise’ wasn’t just on that one spot above his collarbone, it was in fact covering the entire back of his right shoulder. Whatever this ‘bruise’ was, it definitely wasn’t a bruise caused by any kind of injury to the human body. And as Grant headed towards the showers, the ‘bruise’ started to dissolve into his skin, leaving no trace that it was ever there. But there was one thing that was absolutely certain, whatever had scared Dawson senseless and the ‘bruise’ were somehow connected to one another.

Grant paused for a moment, scratching at the spot on his collarbone where the ‘bruise’ had been. He frowned, the skin in that spot felt rough and hard, just like some kind of rock. The spot of skin soon returned to normal underneath his touch. He looked at his finger and briefly narrowed his eyes before returning on his path towards the showers.

_ “Okay, I’m definitely going crazy. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. The remaining rage is just messing with my head. Dr. Roswell said that that was a possibility with me. I’m completely fine. It’s just my head messing with me. I’m fine, I’m absolutely fine.” _

Grant kept that silent mantra on repeat in his head as he headed towards the showers, knowing good and well that there was absolutely something wrong with him.

He just refused to believe that he could suffer even more than he already has.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this chapter, I'm starting to stray back towards the original idea of the AU, which I don't know if that's a good thing or not. (The original idea got very dark and grim, but I probably won't take it as far as the AU went.) Any guesses to what actually scared the cadet away? And it's clear that the 'bruise' isn't a good thing at all. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	29. Down With the Sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant goes back to the base for a break after his first year at the Academy and Coulson addresses some concerns to him.

(Late May 2000)

Grant waited impatiently in his dorm room for Coulson to come and pick him up. It was the end of his first year at the Academy and he was getting ready to leave for a short summer break, which was only about three weeks. He was so ready to leave for a while. Even though he absolutely loved his classes and the training he was going through, he hated his classmates. 

He could barely even go a single week without someone picking on him for things from the way he acted to the fact that he was so much younger than everyone else. No one knew about his powers just yet, any training he had with his powers was supervised by one of the higher-ups. Grant imagined that the bullying would be so much worse if the cadets knew about his powers.

As of recently, he had started to grow cold and calloused towards the other cadets. He would try his best to ignore them and compartmentalize his feelings until he had a proper way to release his anger. But this method had an unfortunate side effect of making him appear emotionless to most, causing some to start calling him a robot or a zombie. The only ones that didn’t call him that were the ones that were the ones unfortunate enough to become a victim of his anger, those were the ones that called him the ‘Demon’. Little did they know that it was actually the truth.

Grant’s panic attacks now occurred mainly in secret, he didn’t want to appear broken to others. He’d rather appear cold and calloused instead of broken. His personality had drastically changed since the beginning of his first year, and that fact actually worried the higher-ups. They were afraid that something bad was happening to him. They thought that his powers and his demonic nature were changing him into someone unrecognizable and, unfortunately, they were practically correct.

Unbeknownst to Grant, there was unfortunately more to him than his powers. There was something else hiding underneath his skin, waiting for the right time to come bursting out. But, honestly, there was no telling to when that would happen. It could be only a few mere months or it could be a few years. But the fact here was that it  _ would  _ happen, whatever it was. And Grant had no idea that anything was actually going on with him at all.

The ‘bruise’ that had appeared a couple of months ago was the first sign of things to come. It had appeared a few more times since then, unknown to Grant himself. And he hadn’t thought about it much since the first time. He thought he had just been hallucinating in his anger or something, he wouldn’t be surprised if he were. He just didn’t know that there was something wrong.

And, right now, all he had been thinking about was seeing Skye again. They hadn’t seen one another since Christmas, which had been about five months ago. Waiting five months to see her again was far too long a wait for Grant. He honestly just wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her again. 

Grant sat on the edge of his bed, eying his two bags that sat on the floor by his feet. Coulson sat that he would be here around lunch time to come pick him up and it was one in the afternoon, he was late. Grant had assumed that something had held Coulson up. Maybe his advisor wanted to talk to him before he came and got him. Grant just wanted desperately to get out of here. 

He was one of the only cadets that was going ‘home’ for the break, most stayed on the grounds for extra training and such. Well, Grant really wasn’t going home, but Skye and Coulson were the closest thing that he had to a home. 

About thirty more minutes passed when the door flung open and Skye came running into the room and jumped onto his bed, wrapping her arms around him.

“We’re here!” she exclaimed, laughing as Grant pulled her down to the bed. “Sorry it took so long!”

Grant gave her a long kiss before pulling her back up so they were both sitting up. “Why did it take so long?” he questioned, slightly tilting his head. “Coulson promised me that it would be at lunch time.”

“There was some traffic and then we got held up by that advisor of yours. Coulson’s still talking to him now, he told me to come get you and help you get your things.”

Grant’s heart skipped a beat. Agent Wilheim wasn’t telling Coulson about the bullying that had been going on, was he? He was afraid that once Coulson found out about that, he would want Grant out of the Academy and somewhere safer. And Grant didn’t want that to happen. He may hate most of the people in the Academy, but he still desperately wanted to become an agent. He wasn’t going to let other cadets stop him.

“Oh.” Grant looked to the floor at pointed at his two bags. “That’s all I have, so I can carry it myself. And I’ve dealt with everything else, all I have to do is lock the door behind us when we leave the room. So we can go back to Coulson now.” He stood up and grabbed his bags off of the floor, “Come on, let’s go.”

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? I thought that you loved it here.” Skye questioned, letting Grant go in front of her. 

“I do.” Grant flat-out lied. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you in five months and I want to spend a lot of time with you. That’s all.”

Skye stopped and raised an eyebrow as Grant opened the door, “You sure?” she asked. “Something seems a little  _ off _ with you. I just don’t know what it is.”

Grant shrugged, letting her go out into the hallway first, “I don’t think that anything’s wrong with me. Am I taller or something?” he inquired, heading out into the hallway as well and shutting the door behind him. He fumbled for the key in his jeans pocket and pulled it out, locking the door. “Because I’m not sure of what you’re really talking about.”

“Just forget that I said that. Honestly, I’m not so sure myself.  _ Something _ just seems off.” Skye stated, situating herself beside Grant as they walked down the hallway. “Just forget it. Anyways, what do you want to do after we get back to the base? It’ll be near dinner when we get there, you wanna get Coulson to take us somewhere to eat?”

“I guess. I mean, I  _ would  _ drive, but I don’t quite have my license quite yet.” Grant answered. “So, Coulson would have to take us.”

“Don’t you need a license in order to drive the SHIELD vehicles?”

“Yeah. I have been taking some lessons, but I haven’t gotten as far as taking SHIELD’s test yet. I’ll do that when I come back after the break.” he began to explain. “So I’ll be good after that. And besides, I wanna be able to drive a motorcycle.”

Skye snorted, “Yeah, if you keep growing the way you are, you won’t be able to fit in any kind of car.” she joked. “And I bet you’ll look cool on a motorcycle.”

Grant blushed, “Well, I’m actually not supposed to grow anymore Maybe another inch if I do.” he answered. “So I’m more than likely supposed to stay this height.”

“How tall are you actually?”

“Like six foot four. And I think I’m about 220 pounds of pure muscle, I don’t know.” 

“You’re a  _ behemoth _ , Grant.” Skye continued to joke as they got closer to where Coulson should be. “You really better stop growing. Your inhuman biology is frickin’ crazy, glad I’m not that way.”

Grant shrugged, “A bigger size gives me a better advantage in a fight, when I’m not using my powers.” he stated. “One solid punch from me completely knocks a guy out.”

“No kidding. You could probably rip a dude’s head off if you wanted to.”

“Why would I want to do something like that?” Grant questioned. “I’m not a murderer. Yes, I’ll technically be an assassin, but I wouldn’t be killing like that. One bullet to the heart or the cranium should do the job. I  _ have  _ been learning about different ways to kill a person.”

“Remind me not to make you mad anytime soon.” she stated. “Not like I would do that anyways.”

“Yeah, you’d never make me mad enough to make me want to even hurt you. And I have been working on my anger, but it’s still not that much better. I can compartmentalize it until I have a proper way to release it. I have to or I risk losing it again.” Grant explained, a hint of sadness in his voice. “And it’s not easy. Especially with the other cadets.”

“What about them?”

“I, uh, I’ll explain later.” Grant stated firmly, seeing that they were approaching Coulson.

Coulson looked up from his spot near the main area of the entrance, “Grant!” he exclaimed, waving him over. “Ready to go?”

“Yes, sir.” he answered as they met him. “Have been for a while.”

Coulson took one of Grant’s bags, “Sorry about the wait, I imagine that Skye told you that we got stuck in some traffic.”

“Yeah, and that you talked to my advisor.”

“Yes, I did. I’ll talk to you later about that. In private.”

Grant’s face fell, “Why? Is there something wrong?” he asked, panic in his voice. “Did I do something?”

“Now’s not the time to be talking about that, Grant. There are quite a few concerns about you. But I will talk to you later about that. Without Skye.” Coulson stated firmly, giving both of them a look. It was clear that he knew something that Grant didn’t and that absolutely scared him. 

“Am I getting kicked out?” Grant asked as Coulson led them out. “Is that it?”

“No, not at all. Again, I’m not talking anymore about this right now. We’ll deal with it once we get to the base.”

The rest of the way to Coulson’s car was done in complete silence, even as Coulson put Grant’s bags into the trunk and Grant and Skye climbed into the back seat. Skye sat right next to Grant so she could lean on him. Grant didn’t mind, he knew that she would probably end up drifting off asleep some time during the ride back to the base. Hell, he probably would too.

As Coulson got into the driver’s seat and started up the car, Grant’s mind started to drift to whatever it could be that Coulson wanted to talk to him about. He didn’t even notice when Coulson started driving, his thoughts had already consumed him.

If he wasn’t being kicked out of the Academy, then what was going on? He honestly didn’t think that there was anything wrong with him. Maybe it was about the bullying, but why would Coulson want to hide that from Skye? It had to be about something bigger than that. Something that Grant didn’t know about. But why were there concerns about him? Grant honestly didn’t know the answer to that, and that absolutely scared him.

Skye did end up drifting off asleep sometime into the ride, her head propped-up against Grant’s broad shoulder. Grant tried to let the contact with Skye soothe his anxiety, but it only helped just a little bit. He eventually fell into an uneasy sleep with his head leaning up against the top of Skye’s head. 

He even dreamed about what Coulson could possibly want to talk to him about.

* * *

 

(A Few Hours Later)

Once Grant had his bags stashed away in his room and Coulson had made sure that he had eaten something, Coulson had taken the boy into the privacy of his office. He had motioned for him to sit down in the chair in front of his desk, and he could tell that Grant was absolutely terrified.

“Sir, what’s going on?” Grant asked, his voice a mere croak.

Coulson sighed as he sat down in his desk chair, “Grant, like I said earlier, you’re not getting kicked out. The higher-ups are absolutely pleased with your progress and they believe that you really may end up being one of SHIELD’s best agents.”

“Then why are they concerned about me?”

“Your instructors have noticed that quite a few of the cadets don’t treat you all that well.” Coulson began slowly. “And they’ve also noticed that your personality has changed drastically in the past few months.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently you’re more closed-off and come off as cold to the other cadets. And you’re snappy with some of them.” Coulson sighed once more and leaned in towards Grant, “Is everything alright with you?” he asked. “Please be honest with me. You know that we’re all worried that anything could happen to you, mainly because we don’t understand what you are.”

“You’re just afraid that I’m turning into the monster most of you think I really am.” Grant snapped, lowering his head. “You think that I’ll slip up on one little thing and I end up becoming some kind of creature.”

“Grant,”

“But that’s not true! I’m not a monster and I never will be!”

“Grant,” Coulson warned. “The only reason to why we’re concerned about how you’re acting is because we really don’t understand what you are. This sudden a change in your personality is a concerning factor, that’s all.”

“I’m not becoming some kind of monster. I had to shut out the other cadets and ignore their taunts.” Grant began to explain. “Maybe I seem cold and distant to them, but that’s just because I’m trying not to explode on them. I’m trying to hold in my anger until I can release it.”

“That’s really not a good thing for you to be doing.”

“So what if I internalize things? I’d rather appear cold than appear broken to those bastards. They think that I can’t do my job because of my issues.” Grant thought back to the confrontation he had with Dawson a couple of months ago. “Once they find out I have to go through therapy, they think I’m some kind of psychopath. I’d rather feel nothing than have to feel what I go through every single damn day.”

Coulson’s face fell, “They bully you because of that?” he questioned. “Because you have a therapist? That’s honestly none of their business.”

“And they hate the fact that I’m so much younger than them. They hate that a kid is surpassing them and is number one in the class when they’re not.” Grant continued. “They try to take it out on me. I just want to be left alone.”

Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed in sharply, “You haven’t tried to fight back against them, have you?” he asked. “You don’t need to be fighting.”

“I… The last I remember is that I threw one cadet to the ground when he got in my face, but that was a couple of months ago. I just try to endure it and try to find somewhere else to release my anger.”

“Grant, please try not to get into any kind of fights. Honestly, you could easily kill someone. It’s likely that you could take out at least a dozen men with ease.” Coulson stated, looking Grant dead in the eyes. “Getting in a fight with another cadet could end up being a disaster.”

Grant nodded slowly, “I know that, sir. I’ll try.”

“Luckily, you really won’t have to be around other cadets starting your second year. Your specialist training really starts then, so that’s mainly individual training.” Coulson tried to reassure him. “Hopefully things will start to get better then. Now, just take it easy and relax. I know that Skye is wanting to do about five hundred different things with you during this break. You know that she leaves for Communications soon, right?”

Grant nodded again, “Yes, sir. I know that.” he answered. “I know that.”

“So try to spend as much time as possible with her over the next three weeks. Once you both start back, it’ll be hard for you two to see one another for a while. Probably until Christmas. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Grant went to stand up from the chair and leave, but Coulson stopped him.

“Oh, and Grant, is there anything else bothering you that I should know about?” the older agent asked.

Grant’s mind immediately flashed back to the fight with Dawson a couple of months ago, mainly the rock-like ‘bruise’ that had been on his shoulder and the unknown occurrence that had scared Dawson senseless. But Grant didn’t want to tell Coulson that. He was afraid that information like that would make him think that there was really something wrong with him.

He shook his head, “Nope. There’s nothing bothering me.” he lied through his teeth. “I just want to get back to Skye now.”

Coulson sighed and nodded, “Okay, you can go, But, Grant, if anything starts bothering you, you can come talk to me. I won’t judge you at all.” he answered.

“Okay.”

Grant left the room and started his way back to where he figured Skye was. His mind was absolutely racing now. Had he really been changing  _ that  _ much that the higher-ups had noticed? Was there really something going on with him?

_ “Maybe they are right. I think something’s wrong with me. Something’s happening to me and I don’t like it. Maybe I am becoming the monster everyone believes I truly am. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is clearly something going on with Grant, but what is it? And when will it actually all come to light? Well, I can't tell you that, but you're welcome to make guesses to what's all really going on with him. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Can I get some more comments? I've been lacking in those lately with this.)


	30. The Devil Resides in Human Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bad dream sends Grant spiraling into a panic.

_ “Momma! Momma! Stop, please! I didn’t do anything!” _

_ “Stop lying! I saw you knock over that lamp and break it. All on purpose, too. What did I tell you about messing with my valuables, Grant?” _

_ “But it was an accident, I didn’t mean to do it!” _

_ “Now you admit it!”  _

_ Grant scampered back across the hardwood floor as his mother approached him, her hand raised in preparation to beat him senseless. She obviously cared way more about her ‘precious’ antiques than her own ten year old son.  _

_ Mother leaned down and pulled her son to his feet and backhanded him across the face, causing Grant to fall back down to the floor, “You’re fucking pathetic! All you do is destroy everything you touch!” she screamed, making Grant cover his ears with his hands. He hated it when she started screaming at him. “You’re just some kind of monster!” _

_ Grant was starting to cry by now, “I’m not a monster! I’m your son! Momma, I’m not a monster!” he cried, curling into a small ball to try and hide from his mother’s wrath. “I’m a human being!” _

_ “You’re not like any human being I know.” Mother hissed, bending back down to pick him up again. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and drew him close. “Your rage, the fights, the fact that you’re completely obsessed with fire….” She trailed off and sneered. “And you’re only ten years old. There’s clearly something wrong with you.” She leaned in closer and got in his face, “I’m pretty sure that you're Satan’s spawn. A demon’s child.” _

_ “I’m not any of that!” Grant cried, tears streaming down his reddened face. He was beyond scared. He honestly believed that his very own mother was going to kill him. “I’m just a kid! I’m your kid!” _

_ Grant screamed out as Mother threw him to the ground once more. He heard something crunch as he landed, he was pretty sure that something had snapped in his left arm. Mother started to loom over him again and Grant closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to happen. But seconds passed and it never came. _

_ He slowly opened his eyes to see his mother frozen right in front of him, frozen in fear for some reason. Grant noticed that her eyes were locked on something behind him, but what could be in his living room that had frightened his mother? _

_ A bright flash suddenly surrounded him as dark, red flames came racing from behind him, going around him and heading straight for his mother. The flames briefly licked at her feet before devouring her body and all but consuming her. Grant stared in fear, unable to do anything as he watched his very own mother burn to death. But for some reason, he felt no sadness at her impending death. He only felt fear because he had no idea what was happening. _

_ The stench of hellfire and brimstone quickly spread throughout the room as the flames that had eaten Grant’s mother alive were now consuming the hardwood. The flames licked at Grant’s very own skin, but they did not burn or injure him. Grant remained frozen on the floor as his living room was quickly transformed into a landscape worthy of hell itself. _

_ As the flaming pillar that had been Mother died away, a screeching laugh echoed out from behind Grant. Grant’s stomach fell as he forced himself to turn around to face the source of the inhuman-sounding laughter. He came face-to-face with a hulking figure slowly making its way towards him.  _

_ The figure’s skin was completely black and it seemed as though it was composed of some kind of rock-like material, which was littered with small cracks that glowed with a hellish light. Small, but sharp, horns jutted out of its forehead, right above eyes that were a piercing bloodred. Something that looked like a tail swished behind it as it walked closer towards him, one that ended in a puff of black fur-like material. Its ears were long and pointy, jutting out from the sides of its heads. As it got closer, it smiled at him and Grant could see that the creature’s mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth.  _

_ But for some reason, the creature seemed familiar to him.  _

_ The creature got close and kneeled down so it could stare straight into Grant’s eyes. Grant was shaking at this point, trying to tear his eyes away from the terrifying creature. But he found that he couldn’t, his gaze remained locked on the abomination. And he also couldn’t move a single inch. _

_ The creature blinked slowly at him as it seemed as though it was carefully studying him. Grant knew that this monster had killed his mother, but he still didn’t understand why he wasn’t feeling anything. Yes, he absolutely hated his mother, but he still should at least feel something? Right?  _

_ Grant kept staring at the strange creature as it smiled at him again, revealing its gleaming white fangs. He still didn’t know to why it seemed so familiar to him. He kept staring at its face, even as it looked down to Grant’s hands and its smiled broadened.  _

_ Grant frowned and followed the direction of its gaze down to his hands and his stomach dropped. Some kind of black, rock-like material had taken the place of his skin and was slowly crawling up his forearms. And as he looked back up to the creature in front of him, he realized it was the very same substance that made up its skin.  _

_ The monster laughed and that’s when it dawned on Grant. Grant finally knew why the monster looked so familiar.  _

_ It was because the monster was him. _

* * *

 

Grant woke up with a start, jolting up as nervous tremors started to wrack his body. He looked down to his hands and in the dim light he could see that they were completely normal. No rock-like substance in sight.

It all had just been a dream, some wild and crazy dream that made absolutely no sense to him. Why had he been some kind of monster in the dream? He was sure that it was nothing more than his mind just messing with him, but the past few months were trying to tell him otherwise. He wanted to believe that it was just his depression and such trying to make him believe that he was a monster, that he really was the demon that everyone believed him to be. But, honestly, he wasn’t so sure.

He brought his hands to his face and began to sob, the beginnings of a bad panic attack starting to creep its way in. He absolutely hated feeling like this and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Only time was his only helper here, or so he thought.

Grant was too distracted by his sobbing to notice the bed jostle beside him. “Grant?” a voice called softly after a light was turned on. “What’s wrong?”

He shakily looked over to see Skye sitting up right next to him. Her hair was tousled and drowsiness filled her eyes, but absolute concern filled her face. Grant had forgotten that she was in the bed with him. Skye had slept in his bed for the past three weeks, ever since he had gotten back from the Academy. 

“Bad dream.” he whimpered as more sobs wracked his body. He was afraid that the flames would come out soon if he couldn’t get himself under control. “Scared.”

Skye immediately scooted over right next to him and wrapped her arms around his massive frame, “Look, it’s okay. The dream’s gone now. Whatever happened in it wasn’t real.” she whispered. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” He was afraid to tell Skye about the dream’s contents, mainly because it concerned whatever the hell was wrong with him now. Why had the ‘bruise’ come back like that, and why had it matched the monster’s skin? No, how could that be a monster when it really wasn’t him?

Grant honestly wasn’t sure of what the hell was going on, but he was sure that he wasn’t going to tell Skye about it anytime soon. 

“That’s alright. You don’t have to talk about it.” Skye answered. “But, it’s okay to calm down now, nothing’s going to hurt you. It’s just me and you in this room, nothing else. You’re okay. You go back to the Academy tomorrow and I start in a couple of days. Everything’s okay.”

“Everything’s okay?” Grant whimpered, his body still shaking despite the fact that his sobbing had stopped. “Fine?”

Skye smiled and nodded, “Yes, you’re fine.” she answered. She hated that whenever Grant got upset like this he tended to act like a little kid. But she knew that he couldn’t help it, it was just a side effect of everything that was wrong with him. The only thing she could do in this situation was to reassure him that everything would be okay. “It’s okay to go back to sleep now.”

Grant nodded weakly and Skye helped him to get back under the covers. She hoped that sleeping would be enough to help him get back to normal. He honestly didn’t need to be like this when he got back to the Academy, that would only make things worse for him. And he hadn’t gotten this way in a while, she really didn’t want to know what his nightmare had been about. Truly, he had been acting really weird lately, but she hadn’t questioned it.

Even though he had been really attentive and clingy with her lately, there was just something  _ off  _ about him. But she couldn’t put her finger on it. Grant had been great with helping her get ready for the Academy, even though she was going to a different campus. But it seemed as though he was trying to distract himself from something, and Skye was afraid to find out what that was.

Grant settled back down into the sheets and immediately wrapped himself around Skye. She rearranged herself so he wasn’t squishing her. It didn’t take long for him to fall back asleep, which was a really good thing. Hopefully he would be okay in the morning. Skye didn’t want him to back out from going back to Academy just because he had a bad dream.

_ “Grant, I honestly don’t know what’s going on with you. Something’s wrong and I don’t like it. I know that you won’t tell me or Coulson what’s going on. I don’t want something happening to you while you’re so far away. I don’t want distance to be what destroys us. Please don’t turn into someone I don’t recognize while I’m away. We’re supposed to be together until the end, right? But I’m afraid that something’s wrong with you, and whatever that is is changing you.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I didn't cover any of the break, but I'm really trying to speed things up. I'm nowhere near the climax yet and this fic is already so long. So Grant's next three years at the Academy may happen in only a few chapters. Then the graduation chapter will be pretty long, but I'm looking forward to writing it. Hopefully all these time jumps aren't too bad, there's just a lot I have to cover. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	31. And a Certain Man Was Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Grant talk after his second year (and Skye's first) at the Academy.

Grant’s second year at the Academy flew by in pretty much no time at all. He had thrown himself into his training so much, he hardly ever knew the date at all. He had finally finished up all of his high school level classes and had finally received his GED, which he felt was the greatest thing ever. When Coulson had handed him the diploma when he had gotten back to the base for his summer break, the older agent had never seen such a big smile on the now eighteen year old. 

And Grant’s progress as a cadet had been absolutely phenomenal. He was able to learn things that would take a normal cadet months to master in practically no time at all. For some reason, his enhanced biology gave him a sponge-like brain, he was able to soak up anything that he learned and then master it in no time flat. He was especially exceptional with foreign languages. In the two years that he had been at the Academy, he had already mastered Spanish, French, and Italian. He was supposed to work on German, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese next. 

He was flat-out terrifying when it came to his ability to lie and manipulate people. Even though said talent would make him an incredible spy, it really worried the higher-ups. They knew that this ability was due to the fact that he was half-demon; they were mainly afraid that it was a sign that he would be capable of evil. But, truly, his heart proved otherwise. 

Grant still wanted the best for people. Yes, he was terrifying to those who got on his bad side, but he was an absolute sweetheart to those who actually took the chance to get to know him. But that number was really slim. He had made about three friends in his second year, but certain circumstances had driven them all away. One had washed out of the Academy and bullies and driven the other two away. And Grant had started to believe that he couldn’t have friends at all.

And the only friend that Grant truly cared about was Skye. He absolutely loved her and he knew that she would be there for him no matter what happened to him. She and Coulson were about the only ones truly honest with him. Everyone else had way too many questions about what was wrong with him or why he was so damn good at everything that he did. Grant really hated questions, so he loved that Skye and Coulson never asked him much. Coulson was the only one that did, and that was whenever the older agent was worried about him.

And Coulson had been really worried about Grant recently, mainly because it seemed as though the teen was keeping something from him. Grant acted like there was something wrong, but whenever he was confronted about it he would act like nothing was wrong. But Coulson  _ knew  _ that something was going on with the kid, he was just afraid to find out what that was. Hopefully whatever it was would take a while to truly cause a problem and they wouldn’t have to deal with it a few years. Coulson honestly hoped that all of it was just Grant growing and maturing and that the kid was really starting to cope with all of his problems.

Grant really didn’t notice anything though. He even had forgotten about the ‘bruise’ from a year ago, mainly because it hadn’t shown up since. His rigorous training took his mind off of most things and helped Grant get through the year. 

He still hated other people because he could never find someone else that would actually like him as a friend. Everyone else had a problem with him for some reason. And his issues made it hard for him to try and make friends. He would either say the wrong thing or slip into a panic attack whenever he did try to talk to someone. That’s why he stayed away from the other cadets. And, honestly, he believed that Skye was the only friend he needed. Skye was the only one other than Coulson that treated him right. And she was his entire world most of the time.

Just like right now.

Right now, the two were perched on top of the base, overlooking the woods that surrounded it. They sat right next to one another, one of Grant’s arms wrapped around Skye. They both had just gotten back the day before and today was their real first chance to spend time with one another. 

“You sure that we’re supposed to be up here?” Skye asked, leaning into Grant’s body.

Grant shrugged, “Hell if I know. And it’s not like we’re agents yet, we can’t be punished. And it’s also not the helipad, I know that’s off-limits to some.” he replied. “So I don’t think the roof itself would be restricted.”

“I hope that you’re right.” she commented. “And why did you want to come up here anyways?”

“I just wanted somewhere quiet that we could go.” Grant began to explain, taking one of her hands with his free hand. “The base itself was a little too noisy, and you know that I don’t like noise. I figured that up here would be good enough.”

Skye nodded, “Sounds good. Do you just want to talk about stuff?” she asked. “I mean, we haven’t seen one another since your birthday and that was like four months ago. We’ve got a lot to catch up on, right?”

“I guess we do.”

“So, how was your second year?”

Grant shrugged, “Could’ve been better. But it was better than last year, mainly because I learned how to avoid others.” he began. “Once I did that and focused on my schoolwork and training, everything was okay.”

“Are the other cadets still giving you a hard time?”

“Unfortunately. And I don’t see what their problem with me is at all. I get that they maybe don’t like me because I’m so much younger than them. Hell, maybe they think I’m entitled or something. I don’t know. But they don’t need to treat me like they do. I don’t like it and they could cause a massive problem.”

Skye frowned, “So you just ignore them?” she asked.

Grant nodded, “Most of the time. They call me cold and calloused now because I don’t show any emotions when I’m around others. Some started to call me ‘Robot’ because of it. The others call me ‘Demon’ ‘cause they’re the ones that were unfortunate enough to see my anger.” He sighed and shook his head, “I’m so glad that this year was mainly individual training. I didn’t have to train with anyone else.”

“Well, how did that go?”

“Pretty good. I can now speak four languages including English.”

Skye blinked and craned her neck to give him an incredulous look, “You learned three languages in a year?” she asked. “How the hell is that possible?”

“I don’t know. Guess it comes with the whole-part demon thing. You know that the scientists said that my brain processes things a hell of a lot faster than a normal human being. I practically soak up information like a sponge. I also can memorize fighting techniques in no time at all. The higher-ups think that I’m probably the smartest in Operations or at least that’s what I think they said. They’re just really surprised that I learned three languages so fast.”

“Well, tell me something in another language.”

“ _ Ti amerò per sempre e nulla può distruggerci. _ ” Grant said, eyes locked onto the woods in front of them. 

“Huh?” Skye looked at him for a translation. “I think that was Italian.”

He nodded, “Yes, it was. It roughly translates to ‘I will love you forever and nothing can tear us apart’.”

“Now you’re just being cheesy.”

He shrugged, “I can tell the truth in another language if I want to.” he stated. “I can say it in French or Spanish as well.”

“I think I’m good. What else did you also master or whatnot?” Skye asked, nuzzling into his shoulder.

“Well, I can fight with a knife pretty well now. My marksmanship is off the charts. Apparently I can lie and manipulate people really well too, but I don’t see it. Oh, I can also do more with my powers now.”

Skye turned to face him, “Really? That’s amazing! What can you do now?” she asked, excitement in her voice. She was so glad that Grant was really going far.

“I’ve got a better mental control on them. I can shape them and bend them to my will better than I could before. For example, if I was caught in the middle of a firefight or something, I could cover my body in armor made up of flames to protect myself. Or if another agent was in danger, I could create a shield around them to help them.” he explained. “It’s really useful.”

“I bet.”

“Oh, and I no longer have bad flashbacks when I use them now.”

Skye smiled at him, “That’s great! You’ve really come far! Well, I mean when I first met you, just the mere suggestion of you using them sent you spiraling into a bad panic attack.” she stated. “Now it seems like you can use them like they’re nothing.”

Grant blushed and scratched at the back of his head. He really got flustered when Skye started complimenting him. “It’s not really a big deal. Mainly because my anger’s no better and I still have bad anxiety. And my PTSD still acts up from time to time.”

“Grant, it’s going to take a hell of a long time for you to recover from what you went through. You’ve still come a long way from where you were when we first met though.”

“Well, I guess you’re right. Anyways, let’s stop talking about me.” he suggested. “How did your first year go for you, assuming that you didn’t have as hard as a time as I did. People probably like you.”

Skye shrugged, “It went okay. I did do quite a bit of physical training and a few other more specialist-like courses. That’s only because they want me capable of going into the field if they needed me. I am going to be one of their only gifted agents after all, they probably want to use us as much as possible.

But on the other hand, the training for the hacking stuff is absolutely amazing. I love it.” she continued. “One, it’s easy. And two, it’s amazing. They already think that I’ll be a great agent in that realm.”

Grant smiled, “I knew you would love it.” he stated. “And it seems like the two of us will be the perfect duo, right? I mean, they still are going to partner us together?”

“The last I heard from Coulson was that they still were going to do so. And they’re supposed to let us live in the same bunk despite it breaking some kind of anti-fraternization rule or something. They can get over two agents dating one another.” Skye explained, rolling her eyes. “I’m supposed to provide the background support or something for you when you go on missions in addition to my own work with their computer systems and all that jazz. 

But you’ll still have that one year where you’re own your own. You are going to be okay, right? I mean, don’t get hurt or die before I can get there.” she continued. “We’re supposed to be together to the end, right?”

Grant snorted and shook his head, “I think that I can survive a year on my own, Skye. I’ll be fine until you get there.” he answered. He reached out and took her hand, “You don’t have to worry about me so much, you need to worry about yourself. I’ll be fine. I’ll get through the rest of the Academy and I’ll get through that first year as an agent. Worry about what you’re doing, not what I’m doing. It’s not like anything’s going to happen to me.”

Skye bit her lip, “You know, I think the higher-ups are worried that something’s wrong with you.”

“What? Why?”

“I overheard Coulson talking to them a few weeks ago. It’s something about how you’re acting differently and can be pretty brutal towards the other cadets. And something about how you’re acting like you’re keeping something from everyone else.”

Grant sighed, “There’s nothing wrong with me.” he lied. “I talked to Coulson about this last year. The higher-ups are afraid that I’m letting my demon side control me or something. They’re afraid that I’m starting to turn into the monster they believe I’m capable of being. Just because I try to defend myself doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” His voice was cold and hard. “I’m not turning into anyone or anything different, Skye. I seem different just because I have to protect myself. So what if I seem closed-off and I might snap at the others, I’m just trying to protect myself. I’m not going to go all monster on anyone.”

Skye gave him a sad smile, “I hope not.” she stated, scooting closer to him again.

“But, if I do end up changing somehow, you’ll still love me, right?” he asked. “You won’t run away?”

“Of course I won’t. I already told you that I wouldn’t leave you. I don’t think you’re capable of being evil, Grant. So that’s not a problem there. And so what if you do grow those horns and fangs you’ve always joked about, that won’t make me hate you.” Skye explained to him gently. “Your looks don’t matter. It’s your heart that matters. Your heart’s in a good place and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. Your looks may change, despite how disappointing that would be, but you’ll always be the same old Grant Ward.”

Grant smiled and drew her close, giving her a loving kiss, “Thanks. At least I can always put my trust in you.” he stated. “I can always count that you’ll be there.”

She smiled back, “Don’t worry. I won’t ever leave.”

They sat there in silence for awhile, enjoying each other’s embrace until Skye broke the silence.

“Do you think we’ll eventually get married?”

Grant almost coughed. He looked at her with a heavy blush forming on his freckled cheeks, “Well, I guess. If we’re still alive by then. I mean, I’m only eighteen and you’re only sixteen, so we have a couple of years. Maybe four years or so?” He sounded completely flustered. 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Skye stated, nuzzling back into him. “We  _ are  _ way too young right now. And besides, I think we need to work on becoming SHIELD agents first. And we need to make sure that you’re okay to do something that big.”

“Then we’ll become superheroes?”

“I thought you were going to be hero before I was. Remember the bet?”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. I’ll find someway to beat you. I still want to prove my parents wrong and become someone good. And I want to prove that a demon can still be the good guy. I’m not bound by what my genetics make me to be.”

“That’s a good mentality to have.” Skye commented, smiling as Grant drew her even closer. 

“I try to think positive time to time.”

“Uh huh.” Skye nuzzled into Grant’s broad chest as she was almost lulled to sleep by Grant’s fingers drawing light, gentle circles on the skin of her arm.

_ “I love you, Grant.”  _ she thought.  _ “You’re perfect. Please don’t ever change. But I’m still afraid that there’s something wrong with you. You’ve been acting weird for a year now and you still act like nothing’s wrong. You’re such a different being, so there’s truly no telling to what’s wrong with you. _

_ I don’t want you to become a monster.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair bit of a warning, the next two years will probably either be covered in one, big chapter or two separate chapters, Grant's graduation being part of the second. I'm trying to get to the climax as fast as possible, so I'm covering bigger gaps in time. And I'll give a hint with what's going on with Grant. I'm starting to name the chapter titles after episodes titles of an anime. If you can figure out the anime/manga, you'll pretty much figure out what will go on with Grant. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	32. You've Woken Up the Demon in Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's near the end of Grant's third year and things are far from okay.

Grant's third year at the Academy was when things started to get a whole lot worse for him. Some cadets had started to find it funny to practically terrorize him for no reason at all. It was something about how they thought it was flat-out hilarious how someone of Grant's caliber pretty much started acting like a little kid when he was scared. And those cadets used that weakness to their advantage. They found ways to pull out his fear and panic, sending Grant spiraling most of the time.

Even though Grant tried his best to fight back, for some reason his rage wasn’t enough to make the cadets go away. They manipulated him and used his fear to their advantage, finding every way possible to make his life absolutely miserable. And for what, though? 

Grant honestly didn’t know why they were so intent on making him miserable, he had never done anything to them. Hell, he didn’t even know them. Since he kept to himself and most of his training was individual, he didn’t know many of the cadets in his class. He figured that their reason was the same as Dawson’s a year ago: they hated him just because he was younger and the fact that they thought he was entitled for some reason.

A lot of the cadets thought that Grant had it easy all because he got special attention. They didn’t know the true reasons to why Grant was so carefully watched and such. It had been three years and still no one knew about his powers or what he really was. Grant was thankful for that though, he knew that the bullying would be a whole lot worse if the others knew that he was some kind of monster. 

It took every last bit of mental strength that Grant had for him to endure the bullying. Since it had gotten so much worse, it did a heavy toll on him. He had at least three panic attacks a week now just because of what he had to endure. And, unfortunately, there had been a few times where he wanted to die because of everything. The bullying had caused his issues to resurface.

And, truly, he was starting to lose control of his emotions. His anger was getting worse by the day and his heart was growing colder and colder. He didn't care about these cadets, he hated them and wanted them to die. He just wanted someone that liked him, but it looked as though the Academy would never give him what he wanted.

But did he truly even care that no one liked him. All he cared for was Skye, it really didn’t matter to him that no one else liked him as long as Skye did. He was just glad that at least one person cared for him. 

He was just tired of the constant bullying he had to endure. Sooner or later, he was going to break. And when that happened, all hell would pretty much break loose. He hadn’t hurt anyone yet at the Academy, but it was only a matter of time before he did so. It was only a matter of time before his rage completely controlled him and briefly turned him into something that he really was not. It was only a matter of time before another cadet got burned by his own hand, and that time was now.

It was about a month before his third year was supposed to end. Grant had been spending some time all to himself to, ironically enough, work on his anger. As part of his anger management, he was to meditate to help channel his rage. He always managed to find a room or some quiet corner to where he did this, even though he mainly just did it in his room because no one else was supposed to be in there. But, sometimes, he went a little out of his comfort zone and would find somewhere else to meditate. And today, that place happened to be the gym. And he was supposed to be the only one allowed in there, mostly because it had been during everyone else’s classes.

Grant was only free because the agent that helped him with weapons training had a serious matter come up and had given him a break. That was one of the perks of individual training. And besides, Grant really needed this time to himself to meditate. His anger had built-up a little too much over the past week.

He sat in the middle of the training mat with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His breaths came in even intervals and his mind was practically blank. He absolutely loved it when he could get like this. He loved when his mind was completely blank and he didn’t have anything weighing down upon it. And the quietness of the room really helped him, too. Well, until the door slammed open and startled him. 

He took a deep breath to keep himself calm and he opened his eyes to see a group of three male cadets come into the room. They sneered at him as they realized that it was him in the room. Grant sighed, these were some of the cadets that absolutely hated him for no reason at all. He remembered their names being Andersen, MacReady, and Locke. Well, that’s what he thought they were, he really didn’t know them all that well other than they hated him.

“What? Is it the ‘Terrorize Cadet Ward’ hour?” Grant asked in a cold tone. “There’s a reason to why I’m in here all alone. And besides, aren’t you supposed to be in class or something?” He remained in his spot on the floor as he glared up at them.

One of the cadets, who Grant thought was MacReady, sneered at him, “Class ended a little early today, so we thought that we would come in here for a while.” he goaded. “Didn’t think that your fucked-up ass would be in here.”

A muscle twitched in Grant’s face as he rose to his feet and pretty much towered over the three older cadets. He took a little pride in the fact that the cadets were glancing nervously at his muscle mass. Grant didn’t have his shirt on and they had never seen him shirtless. They had always seen him in his uniform. 

“What? I can’t be in the gym?” Grant asked mockingly. His fear was non-existent today, only due to the fact that his rage had been giving him hell for the past few days. “There’s no sign that says that I’m not allowed in here. Actually, I’m supposed to be the only one in here for the next thirty minutes. Another agent made sure of that for me.”

Another cadet, Locke, stepped forward as Grant reached for his shirt and slipped it on, “And I don’t see why you’re so fucking entitled to everything in this building.” he stated. “It’s like you have it made for you or something.”

“I don’t. There just are a few special regulations surrounding me and the, uh, condition I have.” Grant deadpanned. “I have to be accommodated differently.”

“And what condition is that?”

Grant sneered at him, “None of your damn business. There’s such a thing as classified information, you know. It’s classified as long as I feel like no one needs to know it. I can disclose it whenever I want to and to whoever I want to. But I feel like you don’t need to know.”

“Bullshit. You’re just making stuff up.” Locke growled, roughly pushing Grant in the chest, eliciting an inhuman sound from the cadet. “Maybe the rumor is right, maybe you’re just some kind of psychopath.”

“Look, I may have an anger issue, but that doesn’t make me a psychopath. I think the true psychopaths are all the idiots who think it’s fun to toy with me and test my anger. Just like you three idiots.” Grant spat, his fists clenched at his sides. “You guy may get lucky most of the time and have me run away in fear, but I won’t do that today.”

“Oh, what? You’re not going to run away like a little baby?” Andersen teased. He started making mock crying noises to get at Grant. “You’re not suited to be an agent. Agents don’t run away crying when they get scared.”

Grant snarled and lunged out, grabbing Andersen by the collar of his uniform, “I am fully capable of being an agent.” he growled. “I can’t help that bastards like you use my weakness to your advantage and trigger my mental issues. I would be fine if there wasn't shit like you. I don't like bullies.”

Grant bared his teeth at the cadet in a nasty snarl and threw him to the ground. His mind was starting to grow fuzzy at this point, but he didn’t notice it. His anger was already at its breaking point and he was about to snap. “You better get the hell out of here now, or I’ll fucking kill you.” His hands were starting to shake pretty badly. 

MacReady and Locker jumped forward and restrained Grant by the arms, only to have the cadet fling them towards the wall with a violent swing of his torso. A loud crash sounded as the two cadets landed against the weights several feet away. Grant snarled at them, “Leave me alone!” he screeched. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

Andersen jumped up and held up his hands, “Look, dude, we were just playing. There’s honestly no reason to kill us.” he stated carefully. “You’re j-just an easy target to mess with.” His eyes flickered uneasily over to MacReady and Locke, whom of which were slowly rising from the pile of weights. “We’ll,”

Grant’s fist connected with the cadet’s jaw and an audible crack was heard as Andersen was sent flying back. His entire body was starting to shake now. He screamed at them, which was some kind of inhuman noise.

“D-Dude, what are you?” Locke stammered as he and MacReady helped Andersen to his feet. They froze in place as Grant’s eyes slowly morphed into a hellish blood red hue. And… And was that  _ fire  _ burning off of him?

Grant just stood there, giving them a seething glare as dark red flames began to dance off of him. The three cadets watched in horror as some kind of black substance started crawling its way up his hands. Grant then slowly started stalking towards them, wondering why they wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Look, we’ll leave you alone, just-”

Locke shut up just as a  _ fireball  _ sailed past their heads. Just what was this guy? He looked briefly at his two friends and started backing up slowly towards the exit. He just knew that they had to get out of here now before this guy, whatever the hell he was, killed him.

“Leave me alone.” Grant growled, clenching his now-blackened fists. “Run before it’s too late.”

“You’re one of those freaks. You’re-”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Grant screeched, flames flaring from his body. “Get out, get out!”

The three cadets wasted no time getting the hell out of there. The door slammed behind them as they raced down the hallway and away from the terror that was currently Grant. 

Grant blinked as his anger suddenly started to subside, giving him a massive headache. He looked around, realizing just what had happened. He had lost it and had revealed his powers to the wrong people. He knew that things were going to get so much more worse for him. 

“No, no, no.” he pleaded with himself, backing up. “I fucked up, I fucked up.” He looked down to his hands and almost threw up. They were completely blackened, with small fissures spreading throughout them that glowed with a red, hellish light. Just like that stone-skinned monster from his dreams. But he knew that he wasn’t dreaming, this was real. 

“I-I’m not a monster. I’m not that monster. Not real, not real.” He started to hyperventilate and he ran at full speed out of the room. He blindly made his way back to his room, trying not to let anyone see what was wrong with his hands. Well, he didn’t want anybody to see him period. 

He ended up making his way back to his room in under a minute. Slamming and locking the door behind him, he hid in one of the corners of the room, his body shaking the whole entire time. His hands glowed with an eerie light as he kept staring at them. 

This was the thing of nightmares. Why was something that he normally had nightmares about  _ actually  _ happening to him? Unless he was really turning into that monster that wore his face somehow. But he refused to believe it, he couldn’t even begin to fathom that thought.

He watched as the stone-like substance began to retreat back into his skin, leaving his hands completely normal. He felt sick, he felt like throwing up. And he knew that it would only be a matter of time before he passed out; he could feel the darkness creeping up from the depths of his mind. He wanted this to be some sick, twisted dream, he wanted to wake up and be elsewhere. Anywhere but here.

“I want Skye, I want Coulson.” he muttered over and over, drawing his knees up to his chest. He honestly hoped that no one could hear him. Hell, he was afraid that those three cadets would go tell one of the higher-ups.

The last thing he needed was for him to be subjected to numerous tests. Once the higher-ups heard of the incident, Grant knew he would be in a SHIELD lab having countless needles stuck into his skin. He just wanted to be normal. But he truly didn’t know what that felt like. 

Why couldn’t he just graduate from the Academy in peace? He still had a whole other year to endure, and Grant wasn’t sure to whether or not he could do that. He knew it would only take one more incident for everything to be completely ruined. He felt like it would only be a matter of time before he would want to take his own life, and a part of him wanted to do that right now. He didn’t want to become a monster, he wanted it stop it.

He curled up into a tight ball, laid on the cold, hard floor, and began to sob violently. Fear was starting to creep into every crevice of his mind and he just wanted it all to go away. He was tired of being the destroyer, he just wanted to be a normal human being. But he knew that it wasn’t possible, he could never be normal and he knew things were going to get worse. Today was just a warning of things to come. Things would get a hell of a lot worse.

And he truly didn’t know what he did to deserve all of his suffering. 

And only death could free him from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to throw a reminder in there that things are far from sunshine and rainbows for Grant. The cadet bullies take advantage of his issues and use them to terrorize him almost on a daily basis, and he's too afraid for his anger to take control. And now it's clear that there's something wrong with him. But don't worry, he does graduate in the next chapter, though! So things will lighten up for a bit! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	33. Face Everything and Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally Grant's graduation day.

(Early June 2003)

Grant stood behind the curtain, feeling as though his heart was in his throat. He could hear the faint roar of the cadet class outside in the auditorium. He gulped as he looked briefly out at the crowd of about 100 or so people. Why did he have to do this? Why did the higher-ups make the cadet with the biggest anxiety issue give one of the big graduation speeches?

Oh, yeah. He kept forgetting that he was the class’ valedictorian. Just like a normal school, SHIELD always had a tradition of having the number one in the class give a big speech. And, unfortunately,  that job fell on Grant this year.

Grant didn’t have some big, fancy speech all written out, he had decided to wing it. Besides, it’s not like he could mess up all that bad. If he was lucky, he would start slipping into a panic attack and would be excused from completing the speech. He really didn’t want to talk in front of all these cadets, especially when a fair share of them hated him. He was honestly afraid that they would start booing him or something. 

His heart started to beat faster as he could tell that the person who was currently speaking now, he didn’t quite remember who it was, was starting to wrap up her speech. That meant he was next after someone introduced him. He tensed up and almost jumped as something suddenly touched his shoulder. 

“Relax, Grant. Everything’s going to be okay. You’ll do fine.”

Grant blinked and turned around to see Coulson smiling at him, “You sure?” he asked. “None of these people like me, they’re not going to like anything of what I’m going to say. And besides, I don’t think what I have to say is good enough. I just want to get out of here.”

“Just speak from your heart, Grant. I know that you have one in there somewhere.” Coulson told him, looking him firmly in the eyes. “I trust that whatever you’ll say will be perfectly fine. I know that you’re uncomfortable to be here, but it’s truly a big honor to be able to do this. Not every SHIELD agent can say that they were number one in their class.”

Grant nodded slightly and looked away, “Is Skye here?” he asked. 

Coulson nodded, “She is. She’s in the crowd saving me a seat.” he answered. “Look, if you think you’re going to start panicking at any point during the speech, just find us in the crowd and focus on the two of us. Don’t focus on the other cadets.” He looked towards the curtain as the current speaker finished up, “Look, I’ve got to get back to my seat. I just came up here to wish you good luck.” He smiled and pulled Grant into a hug, “You’ve got this, don’t let the other cadets intimidate you. You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Coulson.” Grant said, pulling away from the other agent. “That really means a whole lot.” 

Coulson smiled again and patted him on the back, “Now blow them away.” he stated, walking away and leaving Grant to himself.

_ “Do I really got this?” _ he asked himself.  _ “Can I impress them enough to make them like me enough? Just make up some bullshit about never giving up and explain my story to them. I already have permission to try and clear things up with the others. I can even use my powers some. Just don’t take it overboard if someone tries to get at you.” _

Grant looked down at the bright silver medal hanging from his neck that symbolized that he was the top cadet. He thought it was a little much, but it did fill him with a bit of pride. At least he was finally graduating and he could say that he made it through the Academy without giving up. He started to finger the medal as he could hear one of the higher-ups start to introduce him.

An agent walked through the curtain and told him that it was time for him to speak. Grant nodded nervously and slowly began walking towards the break in the curtains. 

_ “I’ve got this. Don’t mess it up. Don’t give them any other reasons to hate you.” _

Grant walked out on stage to a massive set of staring eyes. He reached the podium and could notice a fair amount of the cadets were glaring at him or looked disgusted, like it was some kind of crime that he was the one up on the stage and not them. He started to feel sick and he could feel the heat already starting to rise in his fingers. He scanned the crowd and eventually found Skye and Coulson, whom of which both waved excitedly at him. 

But he couldn’t find the courage to speak. He stood there frozen like a deer in headlights, staring at the crowd. He could hear a few people mutter something about whether or not there was something wrong with him. There was suddenly a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see his advisor, Agent Wilheim, standing behind him. 

“You okay?” he asked quietly. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. It’s all up to you.”

Grant gulped and looked back to the crowd, all of which looked completely impatient with him. He met both Skye and Coulson’s eyes and immediately decided that he would do this for them. “No, I’m okay. I’ll be fine.” he answered. “I’ll do it.”

Wilheim smiled and nodded and left the twenty year old alone. 

Grant turned back to the podium and took a deep breath, “S-Sorry about that.” he stammered. “I’m not used to things like this, so it’s a little unsettling. But I’ll try my best.” He took another deep breath, “I know that a lot of you aren’t too happy with me being the one up here. I know a lot of you don’t like me for various reasons, whether that be the fact that I’m younger than most people here or the fact that you think I’m entitled for some reason. In all honestly, I’m not entitled at all. I never have been. I see why you all think that. It’s not normal for a cadet to get the kind of attention that I get on a daily basis. 

But, truly, that was only to ensure that I would get through the Academy without something happening to me.” he continued. “I’m not entitled, I had to work just as hard, or even harder, than all of you here. It was something that was very hard on me.”

He was met with blank looks. 

“Okay, this isn’t going the way I hoped, let me try another approach to what I’m trying to say.” Grant stated carefully. “I’m not here to try and make you like me. Honestly, I don’t care to whether or not you like me after this. I’m just here to clear up a few misunderstandings and to make an overall point. 

I think that my overall point here, no matter how cheesy and boring it sounds, is to never give up. I know that it sounds like a cliche theme to a graduation speech, but it fits best to what I want to address. I wanted to give up quite a few times over these past four years, but I didn’t. I knew that there was something better ahead and that what I was currently going through wasn’t the end. I’ve never given up all throughout my life, no matter how shitty it got. And now I’m here.”

He gulped and ran his hands through his hair, “I’m not here to tell you a sob story at all. I know that most of you will think so, but I’m truly trying to do the opposite here. It’s only to address the point and I honestly believe that my story will truly be a homerun for my point here today.”

He looked out over the crowd, “You see, I came from a really, really bad family. My parents were extremely abusive and my older brother was no better. It was up to me to protect myself and my two younger siblings. My mother had an extreme anger issue, which she usually took out on my and my siblings. My father, despite being a powerful senator, was always too busy or to drunk to care. And my older brother was just as sadistic as them. I spent almost every day for ten years being beat on or yelled at until my head was splitting.

And I’ll tell you this now, despite that many of you unfortunately already know this, I’m not exactly normal.” Grant cringed as he swore that someone muttered ‘no shit’. “I had issues growing up with anger, and a lot of you know that even now. And that’s something I truly apologize for, I just could never help it.

I always got into fights, and that got me on my parents’ bad side. So they  _ never  _ liked me. And one day when I was ten, things got so much worse for me. You see, when I say that I’m not exactly normal, I actually mean that. I’ve kept this a secret for fours years and I’ve decided that now is the time for me to explain it, especially since the higher-ups thought that it would be good for me to finally say something. I-I’m not fully human. I don’t know exactly what I am, I just know that I’m half-human, half something else.” He faked that part, he wasn’t about to tell them that he was half-demon. “And that’s given me certain abilities and such.” The look on the crowd’s face was of pure disbelief, even though some had already known that he wasn’t human just out of pure suspicion. And the three cadets from last year who had seen him go berserk had mysteriously disappeared since then.

“Those said abilities came to life that day when I was ten.” Grant took a deep breath and spread out his hands, letting fire fill them. The sight received an audible gasp from the crowd. “It had all happened in a flash. I was arguing with my older brother and then the grass in front of me was on fire. And my parents had immediately decided right then that I was no longer their son, that I was just some kind of monster or something. I remember my mother screaming at me and my father pointing a gun in my face. That moment was the final nail in the coffin for them and they decided to completely disown me.

They locked me in our basement for the next five years. They deprived me of even the most basic needs. My younger siblings tried to help me when they could, but that wasn’t often. The only attention I really got was when my older brother or my parents came down to beat the shit out of me. Since they viewed me as less than human, they used me as their own personal punching bag. And that was almost every single day for me.”

He gulped and cringed at the memory, swallowing down bile. His hands were shaking and was doing his best to try and explain it all. It physically  _ hurt  _ him to recall his childhood like this. But he knew that he had to face it eventually outside of the therapist’s office.

“Well, I did have a tutor for some reason. It was something about me disappearing would do bad for my father’s rep or something. But it wasn’t much. I spent the next five years in that hellhole and I was barely alive when I got out. I was nothing but skin and bones and I was sick. 

The day I got out was the day my house burned down. They ruled it as arson, saying that I was a troubled kid and set my own home on fire.” he continued. “And that I died in the fire. That’s how much they hated me. Only part of that is the truth. I did burn down the house, but it was an accident. My older brother had come down to beat on me and I completely snapped. I basically turned into a bomb and I burned the house down.

I wasted no time running away and finding somewhere to hide. But at this point, I wanted to die. I didn’t have the courage to put a bullet in my head or put a knife to my wrist, so I tried to starve myself to death. I hid out in an abandoned apartment building for a month, waiting for the inevitable to happen. But it never came. SHIELD found me and brought me to a facility where I could recover.” 

Grant briefly paused and scanned the crowd. He noticed a look of sheer disbelief and shock in a fair amount of the faces, he was actually getting to them. “I was an absolute mess. I was severely underweight, suicidal, and had a number of mental issues, many of which I still have.” he stated. “I wanted to die, but there were two people that never gave up on me, whom of which now are technically my adoptive father and my girlfriend. They made sure that I got through it.

It was a long year and a half, but I worked to recover my health and tried to heal mentally. Of course you can see now that I’m not exactly skin and bones anymore. But my mental state still isn’t something to be desired. A few things cleared up and my PTSD isn’t as bad, but I have trouble processing my emotions and controlling them. Due both to trauma and physical damage. The doctors that helped me when I got to SHIELD said that I may never act my age because of said damage. That’s why I’m not able to socialize as well or I easily break down. It’s not bad as it used to be, but it’s still there.” He paused, taking a sharp breath. 

“Even though I was a prime candidate for the Academy, I know that a few of the higher-ups didn’t think that I could do it because of my mental issues. They thought that I would give up and wash out in a matter of no time at all.”  he went on. “And, truly, there was several times that I wanted to give up. And it wasn’t due to the rigorous load of work and training I had, I had no problem with it. It was because of the bullying I had to endure on an almost daily basis. 

I still truly don’t know what it is that makes you dislike me. I know recently it’s because of my anger and coldness, but that was truly me trying to protect myself. And I know that’s resulted in me attacking a few of you, and I do apologize for that now. I know that I’ve hurt people that I really didn’t need to. It’s just that violence is in my nature and my first instinct is to fight back. I was lucky a few times that I panicked and ran.”

He sighed and nodded slightly, “But it’s that bullying that made me want to give up. I thought that I didn’t even belong here because everyone seemed to hate me. And, truly, I’m not particularly fond of other people. I have a hard time trusting others because of what I’ve gone through and my distrust made me think that everyone was out to get me. I wanted to leave, I wanted to go somewhere  _ safer _ . But I didn’t. I stayed. I knew that I needed to stay and keep enduring what I was going through in order to get what I wanted. The bullying was only a temporary thing, there was still light after that darkness. 

You see, I made a promise to myself a couple of years ago. I wanted to become a SHIELD agent and prove my parents wrong. I wanted to prove that I wasn’t some kind of monster that amounted to nothing. I wanted to prove that I could be a hero, and I still want to be.” He looked down and touched his medal, “This medal proves that I can do that. That I can become the SHIELD agent,” he paused and looked to Skye, giving her a smile. “And the  _ superhero  _ that I want to be. I didn’t want to prove them right in any way at all. That’s why I never gave up, that’s why I kept pushing forward. I didn’t let a bad moment stop me from getting what I wanted. 

And in wrap-up, that can go the same for all of you. It’s not like you’d go through any of what I went through and really, really hope that you don’t. I’m saying that if I got through what I did, then you can get through anything. There’s always something better waiting for you at the end of the dark tunnel. If you asked me five years ago where I saw myself now, I wouldn’t say that I would be a top-ranking SHIELD cadet that was about to become a full-fledged agent. I wouldn’t say that I would have an absolutely amazing girlfriend and a loving and caring adoptive father. I would say that I would be dead. I wanted to give up then, and if I had I wouldn’t be here now.

I know that being a SHIELD agent presents you with various times that you would want to give up, but please don’t do that. You could become someone great if you pushed through it and overcame it. Just…. Just keep going and don’t let anything stop you.” He gulped and nodded, stepping away from the podium, “T-Thank you.”

Agent Wilheim came up to him to lead him offstage just as the auditorium erupted into thunderous applause. Grant’s heart swelled with pride. He actually had won them over. It wasn’t like he truly cared to whether or not they liked him, he still didn’t like any of them, he just wanted to explain things and clear things up. And he had actually won them over, he had actually done it.

“Wow, that was all improvised?” Wilheim asked as they got backstage. “I haven’t heard a cadet give a speech like that in years.”

Grant shrugged, “Guess I had a lot to say.” he stated. 

“Well, hopefully they’re rethinking their feelings about you. For a man of few words, you sure know how to say a lot when you really need to. You-”

“Grant! That was absolutely amazing!”

Both Wilheim and Grant frowned to see Skye running towards them. Skye collided with Grant, wrapping her arms around him.

“You were great!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t mess up at all!”

Grant smiled and kissed the top of her head, “Trust me, I probably need to change this shirt. I was scared the entire time. This is why I don’t do speeches. I’d rather interrogate someone than do this.” he stated.

“Well, I thought it was amazing. And I’m pretty sure I saw a few people shed a tear or two.”

“Yeah, you really resonated with them, Grant.”

Grant looked to see Coulson walking up, “Hey.”

“You know, that was the first time you’ve actually called me your father.” Coulson commented. “You know that I’m not really your  _ legal  _ adoptive father, right?”

“Yeah, but you are technically my father though.”

Coulson shrugged, “I guess you’re right. I have practically raised you for the past five years.”

“Does this mean that it’s okay to call you ‘Dad’?” Grant asked with a slight smile. “And I don’t mean that in a joking way.”

That made Coulson’s smile grow, “Of course you can, Grant. If that’s what you really want to do. I’m fine with that. But, anyways, you did great.”

“That’s what I was told. But… But I just really want to go now. Do I have to stay for the rest of this thing?” he asked.

Coulson shook his head, “You don’t. We can go ahead and go pack up your dorm room and head back to the base. You don’t get assigned to your new base until next month, so you’ve got a bit of a break.” he said, motioning for Grant and Skye to follow him. “I’m thinking of taking you two out somewhere nice to eat tomorrow night in celebration.”

“Can I get that next year as well?” Skye asked. “I want to be celebrated too.”

“Of course you do.” Grant retorted, threading his hand with hers.

“What does that mean?”

“Uh, nothing.”

“And can we go five minutes without you two bickering like an old couple?” Coulson cut in. “It’s a day of celebration. Grant actually made it through the Academy is and now slated to become one of the greatest SHIELD agents in history.”

“I wouldn’t go putting that much expectation on myself.” Grant stated firmly. “I’m not  _ that  _ good.”

“Well, the higher-ups tend to believe otherwise. And they also believe that Skye will be a great one as well.”

Skye’s heart skipped a beat and she looked at Coulson, “Wait, what? They do?"

“They say your ability with computers is off the charts and your fighting abilities are phenomenal as well.” Coulson explained. “Hell, since you two are supposed to be partners once you graduate, maybe you two will become an unstoppable duo.”

“Really, you think so?”

Coulson nodded as they got closer to Grant’s dorm, “Yep. You two already work so well with one another, proving that in the field will be a cinch. SHIELD needs more agents like you two.”

Skye squeezed Grant’s hand, “You hear that, Grant? We could be  _ unstoppable _ .”

“Yeah, as long as nothing happens to us.”

“Nah, Hellfire and Quake are  _ inseparable _ . Nothing will pull us apart. Not even hell itself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, it's now technically the end of the second arc of this fic. Next chapter will begin the third and final arc, which unfortunately will be the darkest of the arcs. Grant's demonic nature and the things that have been happening to him over the past couple of years finally come into play. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	34. Leave Me in Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A superior questions Grant's current physical state.

(Six Months Later)

_ “Agent Ward, do you copy?” _

…..

“Ward?”

…..

_ “Agent Ward, please respond now.” _

Grant blinked and shook himself into focus. He reached for his ear to activate his comms, “I’m here. Sorry, I kind of zoned out.” he answered. 

_ “If you are to be a top-notch agent, you don’t need to be zoning out in the middle of the damn mission!” _ the agent snapped in his ear.  _ “We need you at full attention if this mission is to go successfully. The success of this mission is completely riding on you.” _

“Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

_ “Tch. This is why I don’t like having level ones in the ops I run. But you were recommended for it...”  _ the agent muttered.  _ “Is the target in sight?” _

Grant nodded to himself and gave a quick look through the scope of his sniper rifle. The target was still in the crosshairs, “Yes, I can confirm. Is the strike team in position?”

_ “Yes, they are. You’re free to fire the shot. They’ll go in as soon as the target falls.” _

“Yes, sir.” Grant readjusted himself around the rifle, hovering his finger over the trigger. He took a breath and swallowed,  _ “Okay, this is it.”  _  he thought.  _ “One shot and he’s dead. The world will be without one more terrorist. Without one more psychopath.” _ He pulled the trigger and the bullet fired, Grant watched through the scope as the bullet hit the target far below. He watched emotionlessly as the man fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

“Kill confirmed.”

_ “Good job, Agent Ward. Clean up and get back to the rendezvous point.” _

Grant nodded and took a sharp breath, sitting up with his hands shaking. He knew that this was his third kill so far, but he didn’t understand why he didn’t feel  _ anything  _ at all. Most agents had a breakdown of some kind after their first kill, It was normal for a human being to distraught over a kill, it was a sign of being human. But Grant felt no remorse, he actually got a slight thrill from the kill. And that feeling scared him.

He knew that the target had been a terrorist responsible for about a dozen or so deaths, but Grant knew that he shouldn’t feel any kind of thrill from it. And it wasn’t like he got absolutely giddy from it or anything, it was just a deep and dark feeling. It wasn’t overly strong, but it was still there. And he hated it.

Running his hands through his hair, Grant sighed and began packing up his rifle. He needed to get back to the rendezvous point before one of the mission commanders got worried about him. There was always someone watching his like a hawk to ensure that nothing happened to him. He was just too far valuable to them for them to lose them.

Grant was sure that most of the higher-ups didn’t care of what he became, as long as he was still useful to them. A part of Grant believed that he was only viewed as some weapon that SHIELD used to their advantage. But did he really care? At least had somewhere safe to live and that he was actually useful for once. He really didn’t care that he was some kind of weapon.

He grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, heading to the edge of the roof. He really didn't have time to head back all the way down the stairs so he decided to take the quick way down. Listening to the roar of gunfire in the air, Grant took a sharp breath and launched himself off of the roof. He landed with a thud, unharmed, on the ground thirty feet below. That was one perk of his inhuman nature, it was hard for him to take damage. 

_ “I bet I’m going to get scolded as soon as I get back to the jet.” _ Grant thought as he headed back to where he stashed his motorcycle.  _ “Jameson really didn’t like the fact that I zoned out like that. I could’ve messed the entire mission up. I could’ve gotten people killed. I was the sole determining factor in the mission. If I hadn’t of killed the target when I did, there’s no telling to what he would’ve done. I’ve got to stop zoning out like that, and I don’t even know why I’m doing so.” _

Grant reached his motorcycle and hopped on,  _ “I really hope that this doesn’t get me in trouble. I mean, I did do my job successfully. The target was killed.”  _ He drove away from the scene, the sound of gunfire still in the air. He didn’t understand to why he wasn’t sent straight into the fight. He could deal with all of the assailants in a matter of no time at all. Maybe SHIELD just didn’t want to risk having him get hurt. Maybe that’s why he was stuck on solo kill missions until he got a handle on things. 

About fifteen minutes later, he pulled up to his rendezvous point, rolling the cycle into the back of the jet. He turned it off and took off his rifle bag, stashing it aside until he got back to the base.

“Ward.”

Grant stiffened up and turned to face Agent Jameson, the superior that was the mission’s commander. “Sir.”

“I want to talk. Now. And we’ve got plenty of time until this jet is set to depart.” he stated coldly. 

“I-I assume it’s about earlier, right?”

Jameson nodded, “It is. I mean, you did do your job perfectly. The target was taken out without a single problem. Except the fact that you zoned out like that. You cannot keep doing things like that in the middle of a dire mission like this.” he began. “That is completely dangerous and it could get someone or you killed.”

“I know that, sir.” Grant said, fingering his jacket in anxiety. “It won’t happen again. It’s just the fact that I didn’t sleep well last night. My nightmares have been acting up again. Guess the lack of sleep is messing with my focus.” He feigned his answer. It wasn’t exactly the truth. He did have a nightmare last night, but he wasn’t tired at all. He just didn’t want to say that he had no idea to why he zoned out like how he did.

“Look, Grant, I’m going to ask this now. Is there something bothering you?” Jameson asked, placing a hand on Grant’s shoulder. “You’ve been a little out of it lately. Is everything alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure? Because if there is something bothering you, you may want to check with the sci agents that are responsible for studying you. You know, just to make sure everything’s okay.”

“I said that I’m fine.”

“Ward, you,”

“Look, I don’t need to see them.” Grant snapped, clenching his fists at his sides. “I’m completely fine. I don’t need to be treated like some kind of child, I’m completely capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need anyone else telling me what I need to do.”

Jameson frowned and took a step back, “Ward, we are not babying you. You know very well to why we’re like this. We get worried when you start acting weird like this, we’re afraid that something could possibly be happening to you. We still don’t understand what you are at all.

You may be half-demon, but that doesn’t mean we understand every little aspect of you. You still are technically classified as an 084 just because there’s so much we still don’t know about you.” he continued. “So of course we’re going to worry when even something miniscule is bothering you. It’s because we have no idea what it actually means for you.”

“No, you’re all afraid that one little thing happens to me and I end up becoming some kind of monster.” Grant growled, taking a step towards Jameson. “That’s what you’re afraid of.”

“Yes, it unfortunately is.” Jameson admitted, staring Grant straight into the eyes. “Demons are supposed to be monstrous creatures, yet here you are looking completely human. The only sign of you being a demon is the hellfire that runs in your veins, the red glow in your eyes, and the faint smell of sulfur that you emit when you’re angry. 

There’s no physical signs of what you are. And there’s no telling to what else could be hiding underneath your skin.” he went on to explain. “So that’s why we’re afraid. That’s why you need to get even the smallest things checked out. You don’t need to fall to your own biology just because you refuse to get checked out.”

“Like I said, I’ll be fine. There’s nothing wrong with me.” Grant stated coldly, a brief flash of red shining in his eyes. “I’d know if there was something wrong, trust me. Look, I’ll go rest up once we’re back at the base and I debrief. Maybe that’ll clear things up.”

Jameson narrowed his eyes, “Who’s your superior again?” he asked. 

“Agent Coulson, sir.”

“Maybe I’ll talk to him about giving you a few days off. You have been on mission after mission for the past couple of weeks.” Jameson stated. “You need to rest and take it easy for a while.”

“Look, that’s not necessary.”

“If Coulson says it is, then it is. And I do believe you need some kind of a break. You don’t need to exhaust yourself, that will only get yourself hurt in a future mission. Hell, maybe Coulson needs to talk to the higher-ups about them not sending you on every mission possible. I know that you’re valuable to the cause, but they’re eventually going to overwork you if they keep up like this. You’ve only been an agent for five months now.”

Grant looked to the side and didn’t respond. 

“Look, go sit down and rest your eyes or something. I have a few things I need to do before the others get back.” Jameson stated, heading towards the cockpit. “Take a breather.”

Grant snarled at Jameson’s back and headed towards a seat,  _ “What’s his big fucking deal?” _ he thought as he sat down. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes,  _ “He’s not my father. He’s just in charge of most of the ops I go on. There’s nothing wrong with me and even if there was, it’s none of his damn business. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong with me.” _

He took a deep breath and shook his head, trying to get rid of the image of the nightmare monster that had suddenly popped into his head.  _ “That’s just a nightmare, a dream. It won’t happen. Maybe my hands did look like that that one time, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m not a monster. Everyone’s just overreacting.  _

_ It’s only five months and I’m already tired of dealing with everybody’s bullshit. I just want some peace and quiet. Maybe a drink or three, if I can smuggle it out of the bar area. For some reason, those agents know that I’m still not 21 just yet. Just cut me some slack, I’ve only got one more month for God’s sakes. I just want my alcohol. It’ll numb me enough until I fall asleep.” _

He sighed and ran a hand down his stubble-covered face. Why was it already so hard for him? Was it just because he was only a level one agent or was it because the higher-ups treated him with such caution? Maybe both. But whatever the reason was, Grant was already tired of it.

_ “Can’t they just believe me when I say that there’s nothing wrong with me?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the third arc begins. Of course Coulson is Grant's SO here, he'll probably end up doubling up and being Skye's SO as well. And it's clear that Grant's now a big, stubborn asshole who refuses to admit that there's something wrong with him. Let's just hope that it doesn't get him into trouble. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	35. You Can Keep a Promise, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye have a chat.

(Three Months Later)

“So, Skye, how’s everything going?”

_ “Good, but I’m so ready to get out of here, though. I just want to go ahead and join up with you, Grant. But you should already know that, right?” _

Grant smiled and leaned back against the wall in Coulson’s office, “Yeah, I do know that. It’s kind of lonely here without you. Of course, no one likes me here either. Something about the fact that I get more privileges than a normal level two gets.”

_ “Wait, level two? You’ve already been promoted? Grant, you haven’t even been there an entire year and you’ve already been promoted up a level?” _

“Yeah, the higher-ups have been pleased with my last few missions. They decided to go ahead and promote me despite it still being my first year.” Grant answered. “Let’s just say it ended up angering a lot of level ones.”

_ “They still think that you’re entitled or something?” _ Skye asked, a hint of concern in her voice.  _ “Even though you  _ did  _ graduate as the top cadet.” _

“Unfortunately, they do. Maybe it’s because of Coulson, I don’t know. I work as hard as everyone well. Actually, no, I work a hell of a lot harder than everyone else.” he stated, scratching the back of his head with his hand that didn’t hold the phone. “SHIELD tries to use me every chance they get, so I’m always going some kind of mission.”

_ “That’s not bothering you, is it?” _

“Nah, not really. At least it shows that I’m wanted and that I’m useful for once. I really don’t care that SHIELD sends me on almost every mission possible, at least it means they view me as valuable. I may be their secret weapon or something, but at least I’m wanted.”

_ “Well, don’t let them overwork you, Grant. You may be half-demon, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get sick from exhaustion. You need to still be in one piece when I get there in a few months.” _

Grant smiled at Skye’s concern for him, “Skye, babe, you don’t have to worry about me. Coulson’s making sure that nothing goes wrong. He’s really taking the term ‘supervising officer’ to a whole new level. I swear that he never lets me out of his sight.” he explained, letting out a small laugh. “I know that he means well, but it is really overbearing. I’m an adult, I should have at least a  _ little  _ bit of my own freedom.”

_ “Well, not every adult has demonic powers that the government is worried about. Of course they’re going to watch you like a hawk, Grant. They’re just afraid that there’s more to you than just your flames, strength, and brains.”  _ Skye stated.  _ “They’re just making sure that nothing goes wrong with you.” _

“Well, I kind of hope that they loosen it up a little once you get here.” Grant commented. “Maybe they’ll see that you can keep an eye on me since we’ll more than likely always be together. And you know me better than any SHIELD agent does.”

_ “Yes, I do. And speaking of being together, Coulson’s still got everything worked out for us, right? I mean, there won’t be any trouble once I get there?” _

Grant shrugged, even though Skye couldn’t see him do so, “I guess. I mean, we still have my room. It’s big enough for the two of us. They went ahead and assigned me a bigger room that was away from other agents just as a precautionary measure. Everything’s big enough for you to live in it as well. All you have to do is just bring your stuff from your dorm.” he explained. “And I think there’s a few things you have to do when you get here since we’re to be partners. Something that has to do with the fact that I’m technically your superior or something.”

_ “Just don’t let that go to your head. You tend to get a little arrogant from time to time.” _

“Skye, all I’m worried about is finally having you here. I’m tired of us being apart for so long like this.” Grant told her. “I think my arrogance or whatnot isn’t an issue here. I just want your graduation day to hurry up and come.”

_ “You will be there, right?” _

“Ah, about that….” Grant trailed off slight and shook his head.

_ “Grant, what happened?!”  _ Skye demanded, her voice unusually loud over the phone’s speaker.  _ “You’re supposed to be at my graduation! You promised!” _

“Well, it’s not my fault. I leave for a two month long op next month. I should be back right before the Academy’s graduation day, but I honestly can’t promise anything.” Grant tried to explain, making sure not to make Skye upset. He swore that he heard something rumble through the phone. “But I’ll try my best to get there. It just depends on the op’s success.”

_ “Well, why is it so damn important that you may end up missing my graduation?”  _ Skye asked, clearly upset.  _ “They know just how important that is to you.” _

“I really can’t explain all the details, mainly due to the fact that most of it is classified.” Grant begin. “But it involves sending me in as a mole of sorts into a known terrorist ring in Europe. They’re responsible for smuggling all sorts of bad stuff, even alien weaponry. I come in acting as someone who wants to join them and I spend the next two months feeding information back to SHIELD. Then once SHIELD has what they want, they come in and attack.” He paused and sighed, “It’s really all too complicated for me, but SHIELD wanted me to do it. Something about needing someone who could worm their way in in a very short amount of time. Guess it’s my demonic charm they’re wanting.”

_ “Demonic charm?” _ Skye didn’t sound impressed. 

“That’s what I call it. But, you know, my weird ability to easily manipulate people? SHIELD thinks I’ll be able to talk my way in.” Grant continued. “It’s actually pretty risky.”

_ “And what happens if it fails and those terrorists immediately suspect what’s going on?” _

“Then they’ll probably try to kill me.” Grant responded nonchalantly. 

_ “Grant! That’s serious! I don’t want you to get killed already!”  _ Skye screamed through the phone.  _ “You need to be in one piece when I get there, remember?!” _

Grant sighed and then laughed slightly, “Skye, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, I promise. I always keep my promises, right? And I don’t think that my abilities will fail me.” he tried to reassure her. “I’ll survive  _ and  _ I’ll make sure that I’m there when you walk across that stage. Okay?”

_ “Fine.”  _ Skye huffed.  _ “I just don’t want Coulson coming here and telling me that you didn’t make it.” _

“Skye, stop worrying about me, you’ve got your own things to worry about other than my well being. You’ve worried more than enough for me these past five years. You really need to worry about finishing up the Academy in style.”

_ “Yeah, I know, but I don’t want you dying on me. Or getting shot.” _

“Skye, I’ve already been shot at least five times now.” Grant admitted. “Me being shot is the least of your worries.”

_ “What?! And you didn’t tell me?!” _

“I didn’t tell you because I knew that you’d overreact. And I promise that they were nothing more than grazes. Okay, one was a bullet lodged in my shoulder, but it healed soon after the med agents pulled it out.” Grant explained, not seeing it as an issue. “It’s not like it was point blank in my chest or anything like that And, hell, I don’t even think that would kill me.”

_ “Grant, you’ve stop to stop acting like you’re completely invincible. I know that you’re not. That kind of thinking is only going to get you hurt one day. That’s going to get you into some kind of serious shit, and I don’t want to know what kind of serious shit would happen with you. Hell, you getting shot somewhere serious might actually cause something to happen to you, I don’t know.” _

“Again, Skye, I’ll be fine. I know that you care for me, and I really, really do appreciate that, but you do need to tone it down a little. It won’t do you any good to act like that when we’re on a mission.” Grant deadpanned, telling her how it was. “Either way, the both of us will be fine. Promise me.”

Skye sighed,  _ “Fine, I trust you. Just don’t be so headstrong about things. Please be careful.” _

“Trust me, I will.”

_ “Good.” _

Grant looked up at the clock and saw that it was getting late and he had an early day tomorrow, “Hey, I’ll call you again when I get the chance to. I’ve got to get going, it’s getting late and I have an early mission tomorrow.”

_ “Ah, okay. I guess I need to get going as well. I love you.” _

“Love you too, Skye. I’ll talk to you later, hopefully it’ll be before the op. I won’t have the chance after it starts. Hell, I was lucky that Coulson let me use his office phone today. But I promise that I’ll be there at graduation.”

_ “Promise?” _

“Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this was a whole lot shorter than the others, this was just mainly a filler chapter before Skye's graduation. There was a big hint in there for the story to come, though. I'll tell you that now. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	36. The Sickness is Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finally graduates.

(Early June 2004)

Skye looked back over the crowd behind her in the auditorium, scanning the sea of faces. She frowned and turned back around as she only saw Coulson. Grant promised that he would try to be here, but it honestly looked as though he wasn’t going to make it. Now, Skye hadn’t talked to Grant since he had left for his op two months ago and Coulson hadn’t updated her on him much either. She was pretty much in the dark about Grant’s current status. 

She had really hoped that Grant would’ve made it but as it got closer and closer to the time the ceremony was supposed to begin, it seemed that he wasn’t coming. Skye wanted to be mad at him, but she knew that he couldn’t help the current situation. If Grant was still stuck in the op, Grant was still stuck in the op. There was nothing he could do to fix it. Skye just hoped that he would somehow make it up to her once he did get back.

_ “Come on, Grant, you were supposed to be here. Coulson’s here, but you’re supposed to be right next to him.”  _ she thought.  _ “You promised.” _

Skye frowned and looked back to the stage as one of SHIELD’s higher-ups came to the podium and got everyone’s attention. He then went into some kind of welcome speech of sorts, but Skye really didn’t pay attention to what he was saying. It was the same exact stuff that had been said at Operations with Grant’s graduation last year, so it really wasn’t of importance to Skye. The only thing that would differ here would be the cadet giving the big speech and the cadets that were called up one by one. So none of it interested Skye, she had seen it all last year. 

And of course she was worried about Grant not showing up. Maybe he would sneak in at the last moment or something. She just wanted him to at least show up sometime today. Coulson had promised to take both her and Grant out to a big dinner to celebrate, just like how they did last year. But right now, it looked as though that dinner would have to be delayed. 

Skye half-listened to the next speech that happened, she couldn’t tell you what it was about at all. Then it was time for the top cadet to come make her speech. And, honestly, Skye didn’t like the cadet one bit. The cadet, Westen or something, had for some reason hated Skye throughout all four years. And in return, Skye hated her as well. So she really wasn’t about to pay attention to whatever bullshit Westen was about to say. And Skye knew that her speech would be nowhere as good as Grant’s had been. 

Time seemed to drag along at a snail’s pace as the cadet talked. Even though the speech had only been about ten minutes long, it seemed to last an eternity to Skye. Skye only snapped back to attention as another higher-up came to the podium and announced that they would start calling up the cadets to pin them and hand them their official badges. 

Skye was near the front, only because she technically had to use Coulson’s name to get into the Academy. Luckily, everyone called her Skye ‘cause they knew that she didn’t have a last name. Even the higher-ups called her that. So Skye was hoping that the man calling out the cadets’ names were call her that as well. 

Her row was the second to stand up after the first had started going up. Skye’s heart felt as though it was beating about a hundred miles an hour. She looked back over the crowd, hoping to see Grant somewhere in there. But her hopes were diminished as she still only saw Coulson, whom of which gave her a smile and a little wave. She waved back and turned away from the crowd.

She really wanted Grant to be here so he could see her walk across the stage. Honestly, she hadn’t thought that a mission could possibly get in the way of that. She really had hoped that Coulson would’ve found someway to allow Grant to come no matter what. Guess he couldn’t get out of a two month long op like the one he was on.

The line of cadets moved at a decent pace. It really didn’t take long for each cadet to be called up, pinned, and then handed their badge, so it wasn’t much longer until Skye was called up herself. She really didn’t know why she was so nervous, it wasn’t like she had to say anything like Grant had. All she had to do was get her things, thank the agent, and then head back to her seat. It should’ve been completely simple, but Skye was currently drowning in anxiety. Maybe it was due to the fact that she hated crowds, but Skye didn’t want to be anxious. Mainly because that could possibly mess with her powers in some way.

And she was now at the base of the stairs, meaning that she was the next one to be called up. She took a deep breath as they called out her name and she held her head high as she walked up the stairs and towards the agent at the podium. She stood tall as the agent pinned the small pin to the chest of her uniform and she thanked him as she was handed her badge. And then she wasted no time getting off of the stage and getting back to her seat.

_ “That wasn’t so bad. Too bad Grant wasn’t here to see it.”  _ she thought as she sat back down.  _ “At least I have a badge now, I’m an honest to God agent now. _ ” She looked down to the black case emblazoned with the SHIELD logo on it and flipped it open. A round, silver badge fashioned into the shape of the logo was fastened to the top above where an ID card would go.  _ “Guess I get that once I get to the base.” _

Now, the rest of the ceremony went by pretty quickly. Once all the cadets had gone across the stage, another higher-up made a quick speech before dismissing the cadets out of the auditorium. All of the cadets left in a single file line and headed out into the atrium outside where they either left or were met by friends or family members. Which in Skye’s case happened to be Coulson.

“Guess you’re now a full-fledged agent, huh?” Coulson teased, coming up and giving her a hug. “All that hard work was worth it, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it was.” Skye’s voice wasn’t as full of excitement as Coulson expected it to be. But he knew just what was wrong.

“Look, I know that Grant promised that he would be here, but I haven’t even received any update about the op today despite being his SO.” Coulson began, placing a hand on her shoulder. “They were supposed to get back soon, but I haven’t heard anything at all.”

Skye shrugged, “I guess that he couldn’t help it, but I really wanted him to be here.” she stated solemnly, clutching her badge in her hands.  “It just seems kind of empty without him being here. He was supposed to be here…”

“Who was supposed to be where?” a deep voice suddenly rumbled from behind Skye.

Skye immediately straightened up, recognizing the voice She spun around and was met with a beaming smile. “Grant! You’re here!” she screamed. 

Coulson smiled, “Guess he made it after all.”

Grant laughed and took Skye into his arms, giving her a kiss before setting her back down, “I honestly just got here like twenty minutes ago.” he admitted. “The quinjet just got back an hour and a half ago and I tried to get here as fast as possible. I did make it into the auditorium just in time to see you get your badge.”

Skye took a step back and now noticed that Grant was still in his tac gear, minus the chest piece. Dirt smudged both his skin and the material of his tac gear. His hair stuck up in various places and Skye swore that there was some dried blood on his cheek. And he was even getting the beginnings of a beard. 

“Yeah, I would’ve cleaned up before I came if I had the time.” Grant stated, noticing that Skye was looking at his ragged complexion. “But of course I had to rush to get here, so I had to come the way I am.”

“Grant, did you honestly think that I would care what you looked like?” Skye asked, poking him in the chest. “I’m just glad that you made it, it doesn’t matter if you’re dirty or not. Wait, does that mean you got in a firefight?”

Grant smiled and nodded, “Yeah, I did, but before you ask I didn’t get shot. Let’s just say that fire makes an excellent shield in a firefight.” he answered, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close. “Immediately burns up the bullets.”

Skye craned her neck to look up at him, “Wait, you were able to use your powers like that in a mission? The commanders said nothing about that?”

“Nah. Guess it really doesn’t matter when I’m trying to protect myself and others. The flame just wasn’t around me, it was a shield I created around me and several other agents. They really can’t say anything about it when I’m protecting others.”

“You actually protected other agents?” Coulson asked, coming forward. “You’re usually a little self-centered and closed-off when you’re on a mission. That’s why you’re normally sent on solo ops.”

Grant shrugged, “Guess instinct kicked in.” he stated. “It got pretty bad there for a while, thought a lot of us was going to die. Guess that survival instincts went into overdrive or something. I don’t know.”

“Well, at least you did save fellow agents.”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, when are we gonna get going?” Skye spoke up. “Don’t we need to get the stuff from my dorm or something?”

Coulson sighed and nodded, “Yeah. At least it’s already all packed up. Grant can help us move the boxes to my car. All we have to do is take you to the base and put the stuff in your, well yours and Grant’s, room.” he explained. “Then Grant probably has to go debrief for the mission and you have to come with me for a few things. Like get the paperwork done so I can also be your SO in addition to Grant’s and then get your ID made.”

Skye wrinkled her nose, “And Grant needs to shower as well.” She looked up at him, “You stink like hell.”

“I take it that you mean that literally, right?” Grant asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Yeah.” she answered, nodding her head. “You smell like sulfur and sweat, now you’re getting that funk all over me.”

Grant snorted, “Well,  _ sorry _ .” he retorted. “I thought that you would want me to embrace you after not physically seeing one another for a few months. I forgot all about my ‘hell funk’.”

Skye stuck her tongue out at him and pulled away from him, “You don’t have to get all sassy with me.” she mocked. “The demon’s got one  _ hell  _ of an attitude.”

“Really, you’re going with that joke?” Grant asked, frowning at the quip she had made. “Not very good in my opinion.”

“Well, I thought it was good.” Skye said, giving him a mock pout and crossing her arms.

“Emphasis on ‘I thought’.”

Coulson rolled his eyes and stepped in between them before they would end up arguing. Even though the two absolutely loved one another, they tended to argue a lot for some reason. And most of the time, their arguments made no sense at all.

“Look, let’s get going and get the boxes from the dorm room before you two get heated.” Coulson stated sternly. “We’ve got a lot to do.” He looked at Grant, “How did you get here?”

“Came on my motorcycle. You know that it’s really not that long of a drive. Only like an hour, well made it faster than that because I may have been pushing the speed limit.” Grant admitted, scratching the back of his head. 

“That really doesn’t matter right now. Come, you can help me and Skye get her boxes to her car and then we can all head back to the base.” Coulson looked at Skye, “We might have to do dinner tomorrow since we’ll have more time. Is that okay?”

Skye shrugged, “Yeah, I guess.”

Coulson nodded, “Good.” He started walking towards the atrium’s exit, “Let’s get going.”

Grant looked at Skye and rolled his eyes, “You heard the man. He  _ is  _ our SO now after all” he stated, taking her hand and running a calloused thumb over her smooth palm.

“Damn right I am.”

“Give me a fucking break.” Skye muttered as she and Grant started to follow Coulson. 

“Skye, please.” Grant began. “Let’s go.”

“Fine.”

And so the three left the atrium unaware of the dark presence following them like a heavy, invisible fog. The dire omen was truly a sign of things to come, unbeknownst to the three. Mainly to the infernal being that the sinister omen had taken as its metaphorical host. The omen laid deep within his blood and bone, only to be seen on the surface as a sinful mark etched upon the back of his neck. And even as he rubbed the said area, he failed to realize how the skin felt like rock underneath his fingertips. 

Everyone failed to realize that the devil was lying in wait to take them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I know that the chapter title really has nothing to do with the chapter itself other than the last part at the end. It's just a reminder that things are far from okay and will more than likely start to get worse soon. At least this chapter was pretty lighthearted. But I can't promise that for the chapters to come. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	37. With This Incurable Sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant has a really bad day.

(Three Months Later)

“Why are you lookin’ so nice today?” Skye asked as she came out of the bathroom to find Grant in a suit and tie. She walked up behind him and laced her arms around him. “I assume that this isn’t just for me.”

Grant chuckled and turned around, pressing Skye to his chest and pressing a kiss to her head, “It can be if you want, but I have to go somewhere in a few and apparently I have to look presentable or something. I guess a leather jacket doesn’t quite fit the dress code.”

“And where the hell are you going?” Skye asked. “I didn’t think that you had to go anywhere today.”

“Coulson just asked me last night. He has to go to a meeting with a few military officials and he wanted me to accompany him for some reason.” Grant answered lightly. “Guess the man didn’t want to go alone. Or he’s afraid that he’ll get attacked. I don’t know.”

“Or maybe he just wants you to get out of the base more. Missions don’t cut it.” Skye stated, reaching up and brushing a lock of hair off of Grant’s forehead. “It’ll be good for you to get a little more experience.”

“I just wish that you could go, too.”Grant commented, walking away and sitting down on the edge of their bed with a sigh. “But Coulson said that you were busy with something today.”

“Yeah. I’ve got to help decrypt some program that a few agents found on a mission the other day. Apparently it holds attack plans for some group of radicals. I really don’t know the details. All I was told was that I was to help a few others hack into and decrypt the program then pass it off to someone else for analysis.”

“Sounds, uh,  _ fun _ .”

Skye rolled her eyes as she plopped down onto the bed right next to Grant, “I can sense your sarcasm, Grant.” she stated, poking him in the thigh. “I’d like to see you try getting your way past a high-level encryption.”

“You know, it wouldn’t probably take me long to learn how to do so, but it’s something that I’d rather not do.” Grant retorted, turning his head to look at her. “So, I’d pass up on that offer. I like things that involve, uh, what’s the word?”

“Violence? Bloodshed? Destruction?”

Grant raised an eyebrow, “Yes, in that general direction, but not exactly like that.”

“Grant, you’re a  _ demon  _ for God’s sakes, they thrive off of those kinds of things. Right?”

“Well, if you pay attention to any representation of a demonic being in pop culture, then yes. But I’m not that extreme.” Grant began to explain lightly. “Yes, I’m naturally inclined to violence, but I don’t  _ thrive  _ off of it. I’ve killed about five people now and I hate it every single time.”

That there was a lie. Grant couldn’t exactly tell her that there was a part of him that actually  _ enjoyed  _ each kill. He could never tell her that. He couldn’t ever tell her that he knew that there was something wrong with him, that he was slowly turning into something he really wasn’t. He couldn’t tell her of the monster that he believed was hiding underneath his skin.

“Well, then that shows that you’re still human in a way. Of course you’re going to hate killing someone, it shows that you have a heart.” Skye stated, threading her hand with his. “You’re not some cold-blooded killer. Yes, you’re an assassin, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have emotions.”

Grant sighed and looked up to the ceiling, “You know, I really wish sometimes that I was unable to feel anything at all.” he admitted. “It’d be nice to not feel what bothers me. The fear, the pain, the  _ anger _ . All of it. I may appear emotionless to most, but that’s only a mask I put on to protect myself. I try to compartmentalize all of my feelings, but it doesn’t work.” He gulped, “I’m still broken.”

“Grant, just because you have emotions doesn’t mean you’re broken.” Skye began, giving his hand a light squeeze. “Emotions show that you’re human.”

“Not when I’m unable to control them.” Grant almost hissed, standing to his feet and ripping his hand from Skye’s. “Not when one little thing can send me into a massive rage! Face it, Skye, I’m  _ not  _ human! I’m far from it. I’m just a monster wearing a human’s face.”

Skye’s face fell and she rose from the bed to approach him, “Okay, that’s true. You’re not human, neither am I. But that doesn’t change the fact that you still have a  _ heart _ . You’re the sweetest guy I know, Grant.” she stated carefully. “You’re not an emotionless monster. You’re just Grant Ward, and I wouldn’t want you any other way. You’re perfect.”

Grant sighed and nodded, looping his arms around Skye and drawing her close, “Yeah, you’re right. I overreacted again. Sorry.” he muttered. “I guess that all that matters is that you love me. I shouldn’t care about anyone else. Maybe Coulson, but that’s about it. Sorry for snapping at you.”

“It’s okay, I know that you can’t help it.”

“I wish I could.”

* * *

 

 

(Later That Night)

Skye frowned as she heard screaming coming from what seemed to be the bar area of the base as she walked down the hallway. She stopped momentarily. Why did the voice seem so familiar.

“You don’t know me! Who gave you the fucking right to get in my face anyway?!” The voice was full of anger and was heavily slurred. 

Her heart skipped a beat and she sighed, immediately recognizing the voice. It was Grant. And it seemed as though he was completely drunk and was raging at the same time. She immediately started to make her way towards the bar, hoping that she could prevent a disaster from happening if it hadn’t happened already.

Honestly, the base really didn’t need to have an alcohol stock. As of lately, Grant tended to drink heavily when something had been bothering him really bad. And for some reason, despite him having an augmented biology, alcohol still affected him. And he would usually end up completely drunk before passing out somewhere.

Skye really hoped that he wasn’t looking for a fight. Grant really didn’t need to be trying to fight someone while completely hammered, a lot of people would end up getting hurt. And by the sounds coming from the room, he was completely out of it. 

“All humans are the same!” she heard Grant snap. “You’re all fucking stupid.”

Skye held her breath as she made her way into the bar, coming face to face with one hell of a scene. Broken bottles laid strewn everyone on the floor, stools were overturned, a few agents were cowering (one of which had blood on his face and seemed to be holding a broken nose), and a few small fires burned in random places. And Grant was currently standing in the middle of the room, swaying on his feet as dark red flames burned off of him. 

Preparing herself for whatever could happen, Skye made her way quickly towards him. She stood in front of him and crossed her arms, giving him a look of disappointment, “Grant.” she stated lightly. “What are you doing?”

Grant continued to sway on his feet, the flames dissipating off of him, and pointed towards the agent with the broken nose, “Tell him he’s stupid.” he slurred. “He thinks that he can fucking come in here and get all up in my, uh, face. I wasn’t doing anything.”

“I didn’t know that the crazy bastard was flat-out drunk!” the agent exclaimed. “I just came in here to get a drink!”

Skye frowned and turned to look at him, “Grant doesn’t snap for no reason, even when he’s drunk.” she stated coldly. “That means that you had to at least  _ something  _ to rile him up.”

“H-He called me a, uh, freak.” Grant slurred. “Everyone knows I hate that word.”

“Well, did you call him that?”

“You believin’ the words of a drunk?” the agent asked, moving his hand from his now-crooked nose.

“Grant never lies and he always has a reason to why he snaps. So, did you do it?”

“Okay, so maybe I called him a freak, that doesn’t change anything. I can’t help that he’s some kind of monster that’s fucking crazy.”

Grant suddenly lurched forward and tried to get at the agent, but Skye put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. “Grant, don’t.” she ordered firmly. “No more fights.”

She turned to look at the agent, “Now, get the hell out of here.” she growled, “And stay the hell away from him.”

The agent sneered, “I don’t have to listen to a bitch like you.” he chided. “You’re not,”

Skye snarled and sent a warning jolt the agent’s way, making him fall to the ground. The agent wasted no time jumping up and running out of the room. 

“Grant,” she began, turning back towards the half-demon. “I think we should go back to the room. You need to take a shower and go to sleep.” she stated slowly. She reached out and grabbed his arm by the bicep. “It’s time to call it a night.”

Grant’s lips curled into an awkward smile and he swayed towards her, “God, you’re pretty.” he slurred. “I love you.”

Skye nodded as she started to lead him out of the room and back towards their bunk, “I know, you tell me that everyday. I love you, too.” she stated. “But you need to get some rest now.”

Grant suddenly stopped and caused Skye to lurch back. She turned to look at him with a frown, “What’s wrong?” she asked.”

“Marry me.” he slurred out. “Let’s get married.”

Her heart lurched and skipped a few beats. She tightened her grip on his bicep, “Grant, I know that I said I would like to eventually get married, but now’s not really the time.” She started to lead him back towards the room.

“No, let’s get married  _ right now _ . I’m sure that there’s someone in this Godforsaken building that can do that for us.”

“Grant, sweetheart, you’re not exactly in your right mind right now. I don’t think that us getting married is a really good idea right now. Maybe we can wait until a better time, like when you’re sober.” Skye explained. Yes, she did want to marry him, but now really wasn’t the time. Grant was completely drunk and could hardly even stand on his own two feet. He was in no position to be getting married. He needed to wait until he could think properly.

And Skye was really hoping for something like a really nice proposal from him, not a drunken statement. So this really wasn’t Grant thinking right now. Hopefully he would be a whole lot better when he woke up the next morning, if he wasn’t hungover.

Even though alcohol still affected him, it burnt out of his system fairly quickly. So he should be fine after sleeping it off. Skye was just afraid that he would get in trouble for the scene that he had caused in the bar. But, right now, she just needed to worry about getting him into bed without him causing another scene.

She quickly got him back to the bedroom and told him to sit down on the bed. Grant stumbled and fell onto the bed, refusing to move. Skye decided to head into the bathroom and get a wet washcloth to wipe his face with. And there was also some dried blood on his knuckles from the agent’s nose that he had broken, so that needed to be cleaned off as well. 

And as soon as Skye came back out a couple of minutes later, Grant was already passed out. He was curled-up into a ball, his jacket half off. Skye sighed and quickly wiped the blood off of his knuckles and threw aside the washcloth. She sat beside him on the bed and took of his jacket, then covered him with a blanket.

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Grant.” Skye whispered. “You can’t keep hurting yourself like this. A bottle isn’t going to help you at all, that’s only going to make things worse for you. You keep getting worse and worse, and I don’t know what the hell’s going on with you. I just want what’s best for you, but I don’t know how to help you.

What’s wrong with you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Grant comes home from a job with Coulson and gets completely drunk. There's obviously something going on with him, but Skye can't figure out what it is. Let's hope she can figure it out before it's too late. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (I really think y'all will really love the next chapter! Don't worry, it's fluffy!)


	38. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant asks Skye a pretty big question.

(Two Months Later)

Grant grew nervous as he approached the closed door that led to Coulson’s office. He straightened up as he brought his hand to the steel-like material and rapped lightly. He really hoped that this went well.

“Come in.” Coulson called from the other side of the door, Grant’s signal for him to head into the room.

The half-demon opened the door and smiled at Coulson as he walked in, “Hey.” he said. He walked in front of the desk and Coulson stood up as he did so.

Coulson nodded at him, “Grant? Is there something bothering you?” he asked, motioning for Grant to sit down in one of the chairs. “You don’t don’t come willingly to my office unless there’s something going on. Please don’t tell me you got in another fight. We’re still clearing up everything from that drunken fight you got into the other day.” he stated. “You can’t keep getting into situations like that. There’s only so much that the higher-ups will take until they seek punishment against you.”

Grant gulped and shook his head, “No, no, it’s nothing like that.” he stammered. “I just want to ask you something, that’s all.”

“Like what?”

“There’s, ah, something I’ve been meaning to do for the past few weeks now, but I don’t know if it breaks any kind of SHIELD rules or anything.” Grant began slowly. “But I’d figure that I would ask you, since you seem to know everything.”

Coulson narrowed his eyes, “Grant, what would you possibly want to do that would break a SHIELD rule?” he questioned. “Unless you’re trying to fight someone again. Please tell me what you’re wanting to do isn’t going to get people hurt.”

“I-I want to ask Skye to marry me.”

Coulson’s face fell and drained of all color. He knew that this would happen eventually, but he still didn’t like the idea at all. Hell, Grant and Skye were adults and the idea still made him feel sick. Maybe it was because Coulson knew Skye since she was 13 and Grant since he was 15. He still saw them as those kids, not the full-grown adults they were now. And because of the fact that Grant was technically his legal son, it meant Skye would end up being his daughter in law and that just made his head hurt.

“You do?” he asked, feigning a smile.

Grant nodded, “Yeah. I figured that we’ve been together long enough and there’s no better time than now.” he replied. “I didn’t want something happening to either of us before I could ask her.”

“Alright, but why would you need to ask me?” Coulson questioned. “Why not go ahead and ask her?”

“I know that SHIELD’s already bending a lot of rules for us already, so I wasn’t sure if us getting married would be a problem or not. Wouldn’t it be breaking some kind of anti-fraternization rule or something?”

Coulson blinked. While it was true that SHIELD was bending a lot of their own rules to accompany Grant and Skye’s needs, but he really wasn’t sure if SHIELD would allow them to get married. It normally wasn’t allow for two agents to get married, but it wasn’t uncommon to have married agents. It just was rare in the specialist field due to the fact that those agents never stayed in one place long and had a high probability of being killed in the field.

“Well, Grant, I really don’t know in your case.” the older man stated, sitting up. “I mean, I could probably talk to a few of the higher-ups and see. I really don’t see why it would be a problem, you two are already together. It’s just that I don’t know how the higher-ups would see it.

But they’re very willing to do whatever it takes to keep you happy so you’ll stay here.” he continued. “You’re one of SHIELD’s most valuable assets, the higher-ups definitely want you to stay. So maybe if it is breaking that rule, then maybe they will be willing to bend that one for you as well.”

“Could you possibly ask them for me?” Grant asked. “You know that I’m no good with authority figures.”

Coulson nodded and smiled, “Sure, I just don’t know how long it’ll take to get an answer.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m ready whenever they can get back. I’ve already got her a ring.”

“You did?”

“Yeah,, I don’t have it with me though. It’s hidden in our room for the time being.”

Coulson feigned another smile,  _ “You know, if they get married, they’ll probably end up having a kid. Well, that would probably happen even if they weren’t married. But since Grant’s my legal son, that means that I’ll be a grandpa sooner or later. I’m not ready to be a grandfather, especially to whatever child those two could conceive. Can a half-demon and a half-alien even have a kid? Would that mean the kid would be half-demon, half whatever Skye is? Hold yourself together, Phil, you’re getting too far ahead of yourself.” _

“Uh, Coulson?” 

The older man blinked and looked to see Grant waving his hand in front of him, “Huh?”

Grant raised an eyebrow, “You okay there?” he asked. “You kind of zoned out for a minute.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” Coulson waved a dismissive hand. “I was just thinking, that’s all”

“So you’ll ask them for me?”

“Yeah, Grant, I just said that I would.” Coulson answered. “Again, I just don’t know how long it’ll take. It may be tonight, or it may be a few days from know. I just don’t know.”

Grant shrugged, “Well, that’ll give me more time to try and figure out just how to propose.” he stated. “I really don’t want to do anything too over the top, but I also want to really surprise her.”

“Grant, I imagine that she’ll be more than pleased with you asking her, so it probably won’t even matter to how you do it.” Coulson paused and thought for a minute. “Wait, here’s an idea. I can try really hard to get an answer from the higher-ups today. I know that Skye’s really busy today, so maybe you could do something nice for her tonight and then ask her.”

Grant smiled, “That’s… That’s actually a really good idea. She’s been stressing a whole lot lately, so maybe I can cook her a dinner in the kitchen and bring it back to the room.” he began. “With candles and everything. There has to be candles around here somewhere. Then I can run her a hot bath since we actually have a tub somehow. Well, I’ll figure something out.”

Coulson nodded slowly, “I’m sure that you’ll be able to. But I’ll try to see if they’ll give me an answer today, then I’ll come find you. Okay?”

The younger agent smiled even more, “Okay.”

* * *

  
  


(That Night)   
  


Grant was practically bouncing off of the walls. Coulson had actually managed to get an answer back from the higher-ups just a couple of hours ago and they had said that him and Skye getting married wasn’t a problem at all. Mainly since it would be no different from the way they were now. But it had sent Grant into an absolute frenzy.

He immediately went to start cooking Skye a nice dinner. It wasn’t much, it was just some kind of chicken dish. He had to work with what the food stock had. But he knew that Skye would absolutely love it. 

He had set up a space on the bed so they could eat there in privacy, he didn’t want anyone interrupting them one bit. A few candles were set around the room, all alight with his own flames. Honesty, maybe lighting the candles himself wasn’t that great of an idea. He was afraid that the hellfire would make the room start to stink. But at least the light of the candles did provide nice lighting for the room. 

Now, he wouldn’t start running the bath for Skye until after dinner. He was actually thinking of proposing right after they ate, mainly to just go ahead and get it over with for his own sake. It felt as though the ring box was burning a hole in his pocket. Truly, he just wanted Skye to hurry up and get here.

And luckily, Skye walked into the room about ten minutes later.

“Grant, you in here?” she called out as she opened the door. “I’m tired and I lowkey want my neck rubbed, it’s killing me from looking at a screen for so long. I,”

She paused as she noticed that the room was darkened and was only lit by candles that were scattered around the room. “Grant?” she asked, turning to see the man coming out of the bathroom. “What the hell is this?”

“I, uh, thought that I’d treat you to something special. Just me and you time. I know that you’ve been working like hell lately and I thought that you’d like something like this.” Grant explained, growing nervous. He gestured to the plates on the bed, “I made dinner.”

Skye smiled and walked over to him, throwing her arms around him, “God, what did I do to deserve you?” she asked, lazily pressing a kiss to his neck. “You’re so freaking good.”

Grant blushed and nuzzled his head into the top of her hair, “I knew that you’d like it. I was even going to run you a hot bath afterwards.”

She pulled away and looked up at him with a gleam in her eyes, “You know, that tub’s big enough for the two of us.” she commented. “We could  _ both  _ take a bath.”

“Uh, we could?” Grant squeaked, his eyes as wide as saucers. “I, uh, mean we can. We definitely can.”

“Knew that would make you flustered.” Skye teased, taking his hand and dragging him to the bed. “So what did you cook?” she asked as they sat on the bed and Grant handed her a plate.

Grant shrugged, “You know, it’s kind of hard to make a gourmet meal in a SHIELD base, I kind of had to work with what I had. It’s just baked chicken with some veggies.” he began. “It’s really not much.”

Skye looked down at it and cut off a bite of chicken with her knife. She ate it and immediately smiled, “It’s great, Grant!” she exclaimed. “It’s amazing!”

“R-Really?” Grant stammered. He took a bite as well, “Huh, guess I can make something out of practically nothing at all.”

“I guess neither of us have really cooked much, have we?” Skye asked, taking a bite of the veggies. “I mean, back at the first base we had an agent that cooked for us and then we both ate cafeteria food at the Academy. And even now, there’s a few cooks here. So it’s not like we’ve had to cook for ourselves. But I think you should cook more.”

“I guess so.”

Skye looked around the room, “What’s with the candles?” she asked. “I assume you lit them with your finger, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I thought it would add some atmosphere to the room or something. I don’t know. Unfortunately, I forgot that it would make the room smell like sulfur.”

“I really don’t notice it. It’s barely even there.” Skye commented around a mouthful of chicken. “I think you’re fine there.”

Grant nodded slightly, “Good. Good.”

The two pretty much drifted off into silence as they continued finishing up eating. Grant was just too flat-out nervous to try and talk. He was trying to figure out how to ask Skye. He hoped that something would work out.

They finished up eating pretty quickly and Grant took the plates and put them aside to where he could get them later. Skye got up and announced that she was going to wash her hands, which gave Grant a really good opportunity.

As Skye went into their bathroom, Grant quickly got up and got down on one knee beside the bed where Skye would immediately see upon coming out of the bathroom. This was perfect, he believed. And it wasn’t like she was going to say no.

“Alright, Grant, what about that bath you promised?” Skye called from the bathroom. “Again, my neck is killing me and I was wondering…” She trailed off as she came out of the bathroom and saw Grant kneeling in front of her with a box that seemed to contain a ring in his hands. Her heart skipped several beats, “I knew this dinner wasn’t for nothing.”

Grant blushed, “I figured that now was a perfect time to do this.” he began as Skye came closer. “I wanted to ask before something could happen to the either of us, God forbid that happening. And I figure that we’re old enough now, hell I’m 21 and you’re 20. Again, I just wanted to do it before something happened and then I ended up never having the chance to.

And we’ve been together long enough and we’ve already proclaimed to one another that we weren’t going anywhere.” he continued. “Despite everything that has happened to me, these past six years have been the best ones of my life because of you. You’ve done so much for me and I could never possibly even begin to repay you for any of it. But…. But I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I couldn’t possibly bear to live without you.”

He took a breath and smiled as he saw tears starting to form in Skye’s eyes, “So, Skye, will you marry me?”

Skye wasted no time flinging herself at him and planting kisses all over his face, “Yes, Grant, yes!” she exclaimed. “Of course I will! I thought that you’d never ask!”

Grant laughed and stood up, helping Skye to her feet as well. He took her left hand and slipped the ring onto her ring finger, tossing the box aside. “Well, I’ve been meaning to for a while now, but was always too busy.” he commented, kissing her temple. “At least I finally got to it, right?”

Skye smiled and blushed, looking at the shining ring on her finger, “Well, the best things come to those who wait, I guess.” she stated. “And this is probably the best thing possible.”

“Well, I’m glad that you like it.” Grant said, drawing her close. “You’re now officially my fiance and once we’re married, you’ll be Mrs. Ward. You’ll finally have a last name.”

“And at least it’s yours, so it couldn’t be more perfect.” Skye reached up and locked her lips with his, beginning to drag him towards the bed. 

Grant broke away briefly, “What are you doing?”

“Screw the bath, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.” Skye said in between breaths as the two grew more and more heated. She tugged as his shirt.

“Huh? Ah, oh. This, this is good.”

“Of course it will be.” Skye pulled him down to the bed and Grant flipped her over and began tearing at her clothes as well. 

And Coulson didn’t even question them the next day about the low magnitude earthquake that had been recorded during the night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they're now engaged! I lied when I said that the story would immediately start getting darker, it's gonna be happy for just a little bit longer. They'll get married in the next chapter and then things will start going downhill from there. I just wanted them to be married before everything hits the fan. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my other fics, I've just been too enthralled with this one. I'll at least get to Feed the Machine by the end of the week.)


	39. How Can This Last Forever?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding day!

(A Month Later)

Now, Grant and Skye practically wasted no time in getting married. They would’ve gotten married right away if they could, but their busy schedules forced them to wait until the next month. Really, neither of them cared, they were just glad that they were finally getting married. 

And their ceremony was nothing special. It was really private and intimate. There were only a few others there aside from Coulson himself. A few of the higher-ups that were responsible for watching over them and a couple of Skye’s friends had shown up. And the two really didn’t care to who showed up or not, they were only really paying attention to themselves. 

The ceremony wasn’t all that traditional. There wasn’t going to be a wedding march or such, even though Skye had still insisted on coming in and surprising Grant with her dress and such. Coulson had offered to walk her down the aisle, but Skye had declined his offer. She said that it would be kind of awkward since he was technically Grant’s father and not hers. Skye just wanted to come in all by herself, mainly just to show off to Grant.

They had managed to find someone on the base that was actually an ordained minister and could officially marry them, which made things a whole lot easier for them. And the ceremony was to take place in one of the base’s smaller conference rooms. It wouldn’t be all that long either. They would recite their vows, exchange rings, then kiss. And, honestly, Skye wanted to go ahead and get this over with. She had other plans for Grant that involved them, their bed, and not coming out of the bedroom for a few hours.

Well, truly, Grant was far more excited than Skye was. He was currently standing in front of the minister, waiting for Skye to come into the room. He truly couldn’t believe that he was about to get married to the love of his life. It was such a profound thought for him, that he could hardly even register it. Six years ago, he was almost dead. And now he’s in a job that he loves and he’s about to be a husband. So he truly has a hard time comprehending that idea.

But he better had comprehend it soon.

Grant stiffened up as the doors to the room practically flung open and he, and everyone else in the room, turned to see Skye standing in the opening. His eyes widened and his mouth grew dry as he took in the sight. Skye’s hair was nicely curled and she was wearing a dress that Grant absolutely loved. Well, he only loved it because it was a little too low cut in the front, but he still found her absolutely beautiful. 

He remained there, his gaze transfixed on her as she slowly began making her way down towards the front of the room, waiting for no one to tell her anything. The minister nodded, not quite expecting such an untraditional entrance. But that was Skye for you, always looking to somehow be the center of attention, even at her own wedding.

The minister looked over the small crowd, seeing if everyone was at attention before beginning the traditional wedding speech, about the only thing that was traditional about this whole thing. And, honestly, neither Grant nor Skye paid attention to what the man was saying, they were practically hypnotized by one another.

Grant was still transfixed by Skye’s almost-ethereal beauty. Yes, he had always found her very attractive, but she was a flat-out goddess right now in his opinion. He was glad that she didn’t decide on a normal wedding dress and had gone with something he thought to be a whole lot more sexier. 

And Skye couldn’t get over just how regal Grant looked. He was dressed in a dark suit with a black tie. His normally-spiky hair was slicked-back and he was completely clean-shaven. In all aspects, Skye found him overly-handsome today. Yes, she absolutely loved the rugged look he normally sported, but she just couldn’t get over this. 

The two continued to stare at one another until the minister cleared his throat and asked to if they had their vows ready or not. They both blinked and nodded in unison, Grant announcing that he would go first. 

“Ah, you know, I actually don’t have anything written out, but I decided that I would wing this and say what comes to heart in the moment.” Grant stated, scratching at the back of his head. “I’m really not all that great when it comes to planning things out.”

He swallowed and licked his lips, looking firmly at Skye, “Skye, if someone had of asked me six years ago where I would’ve seen myself today, I would’ve said that I would be dead and gone. I would’ve never thought that I would be standing here about to get married to the greatest woman ever.” He smiled as Skye blushed. “I didn’t have a whole lot of hope for myself back then, but… But you put that hope in me, alongside Coulson. 

Even though there were a hell of a lot of times I just wanted to give up and die, you never gave up on me, even when things got really bad. You stayed and made sure that I was okay, even when anyone else would’ve run far away from me. You were one of the only ones that didn’t see me as the monster that my biology makes me out to be. You were one of the only ones that gave me a chance.

You pushed me to get this far. I wouldn’t of had gotten through the Academy if it wasn’t for you. I wouldn’t be standing here today if you hadn’t of had been there for me. I know that this isn’t long, you should know by now that I’m a man of few words.” He smiled and took a deep breath.

“But I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Skye.” he continued, seeing tears build up in her eyes. “I love you and you are my everything. I’ll ensure that nothing will happen to you, even if we go through hell. And that wouldn’t surprise me considering what I am.” His smile grew, “But I’ll do my best to protect you until the day we die. I love you, Skye, and there’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. You are my everything.” He nodded and casted a brief glance to the minister.

The minister nodded back and looked towards Skye, “And now for the bride.”

Skye smiled and wiped at the tears in her eyes, not caring that she was smearing her makeup, “Wow, okay, I always forget that you can say so much in not a lot of words.” she began. “And I don’t know how I could possibly even beat that, but I’ll try. 

You know, I never really had a true family. I was always bouncing from place to place, never able to stay in one place for long. No one ever wanted me and I thought I’d never have anyone, especially after I got my powers. Things got a little better once Coulson found me. I had friends at the base, but something always seemed to be missing, but I was never sure to what that something was. 

Then you came in all broken and battered, and I just knew that there was something with you the moment I saw you.” she continued. “Of course I was only 13 at the time and I wasn’t sure to what that was just yet. But it started to become clearer as we grew closer that you were the family that always had been missing. I know it’s not a perfect family, but you and Coulson were the closest thing I ever had to one. And I want that to stay. 

Grant, I want to start our own little family one day, if that’s possible. Maybe in a few years we’ll be able to settle down and perhaps have kids if we can. I know that you probably believe that you won’t be a good husband or a good father, but I believe that you will be. You’ve already been amazing to me these past almost seven years, and I don’t think it’s possible that you have a single bad bone in your body.

Just because you’re a demon doesn’t mean you a bad guy. You’re the sweetest guy I know and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You may want to protect me at all costs, but I’ll do the same with you. I’ll ensure nothing ever happens to you, no matter how strange it may be. I love you, Grant Douglas Ward, and nothing will even change that.” She smiled and nodded, noticing that Grant was tearing up as well.

The minister nodded once more, “Now that the bride and groom have exchanged vows, they may exchange rings.” He motioned for the two to step forward and Coulson came forward with the rings. Of course he had a part in there. 

Grant and Skye took the rings from Coulson and took each other’s left hand, slipping on the golden bands. Once they had done so, they stepped back and allowed the minister to step forward once more.

He looked towards Grant, “Do you, Grant Douglas Ward take Skye to be your lawfully-wedded wife?”

Grant gulped and nodded, “I do.”

“And do you, Skye, take Grant Douglas Ward to be your lawfully-wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“And by the powers invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

And with that, Skye practically flung herself at Grant, locking her lips with his as the small crowd clapped. Grant hoisted her up into his arms and cradled her close, leaning in close to her ear. 

“How about we go celebrate,  _ Mrs. Ward _ ?” he crooned, walking towards the door with her still in his arms. “Before Coulson tries to stop us?”

“That sounds like a plan. He may be your dad and all, but he’s still a little overbearing.” Skye whispered back. “He can surprise us later. We have things to do.”

“We definitely do.”

* * *

 

(Two or So Hours Later)

Grant lazily drew circles on Skye’s arm as she nuzzled her naked body right up against him, “You know,” he began. “It’s still hard for me to believe that we’re finally married.”

“You still afraid that all of this is some dream or something?” Skye asked, drawing the sheets up to her chest. “Because it’s far from that.”

“I know, but I still can’t believe that something so good can happen to me.” Grant continued, wrapping his body around hers. “It just makes me think that something bad is going to happen sooner or later. I mean, every time something good happens, there’s something horrible right around the corner to drag me back down again.”

“Now you’re just being paranoid, sweetheart. I promise you that nothing’s going to happen to you, I’ll make sure of it myself.”

“Skye, no matter how much you try, you can’t always be there to stop every little thing. SHIELD doesn’t send you with me on every mission. What if something happens to me when you’re just providing background support?” Grant asked, laying an arm across her. “You’re not going to be there in order to stop it.”

“You’re right, I can’t be there to prevent everything, but you’ve got to at least put a little faith in yourself, Grant.” Skye continued. “If you keep thinking bad things are going to happen, something bad is going to happen to you eventually. You’ve got to lighten up, always think of the good things that can come out of something. Not every little bad thing. 

You may think that only bad can come to you because you’re half-demon, but that’s just your mind playing tricks on you.” she continued. “You’ll be perfectly fine. Now just get some sleep. I imagine Coulson will be wanting to do something tomorrow. Everything will be okay.”

Grant nodded slightly and buried his face into the crook of Skye’s neck, “I hope that you’re right.” he muttered. “I just want things to go well for once. 

But of course they never do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, unfortunately, the happiness ends for a while. The big climax will actually happen in the next chapter, mainly because I'm really trying to speed things up here. But, hey, at least they're married now! A little happiness before all hell breaks loose! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	40. Is There a Cure for Your Sickness?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All hell breaks loose. Literally.

(A Month and a Half Later)

“ _ Grant? _ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _ Just so you know, the surveillance scans are picking up a hell of a lot of enemy movement around you. Try to watch your back.” _

“Got it, Skye.”

Grant stopped momentarily and surveyed his surroundings. He was deep in some off-grid science organization base, trying to find some experiment serum that the illegal group had been working on. His task was to find it and bring it back to the scientists at SHIELD so they could study the unknown serum. It would normally be an easy mission to complete, despite the fact that the base was crawling with heavily-armed guards. It would take one hell of a fight to get out of the base. And it wasn’t like Grant was worried or anything, he really just wasn’t in the mood for fighting at the moment.

“Skye, how much farther to the vault that supposedly holds the serum?” he asked, pressing a hand to his ear to activate his comms. “It feels as though I’ve been walking for ages.”

“ _ That’s because you’re impatient, dumbass. _ ” Skye chided in his ears. “ _ Besides, you’re almost there. You’ve got like another 50 meters until you get there. You should know it when you see it. I’ve got it up on CCTV feeds now and it pretty much looks like a bank vault. Shouldn’t be hard to miss.” _

“Good. At least you’re my backup.” Grant muttered, continuing down the hallway. “Despite being a little overly-dramatic sometimes, you still get the job done.”

“ _ There’s a reason you married me.” _

“It wasn’t because of your work ethic, Skye. You know that. Anyways, going off comms now. Continue to monitor me through the security feeds and the monitors on me. I’ll be in and out in no time.”

“ _ Just be safe. Please.” _

“Don’t worry, I will.” Grant stated in a low whisper, deactivating his comms. There was no need to make noise when he was trying to get out of the base without a problem. All he really needed to do was get to the vault, burn his way in, get the serum, then get out. He knew that it would be a piece of cake. And Skye already deactivated the security systems in this part of the base. 

It took only two minutes for Grant to find the massive vault door in an isolated hallway, away from everything else.  _ “It’s a high-tech science base and they decide to keep their evil serum in a bank vault. Really.”  _ he thought, making his way to the door and surveying it to try and find a weak point that would easily melt.

Once he had found a point that he figured would work well enough, Grant flexed his hands and pressed them up against the cool metal of the door. He sent a quick, yet very hot, blast of flame into the door. The flames ended up melting a hole large enough for him to squeeze through and get into the vault. 

The serum sat in a briefcase on a table in the middle of the shallow vault, which Grant found kind of strange.  _ “Did they just take every spy movie clique and put it into building this vault?”  _ he asked himself, walking up to the briefcase and taking it.  _ “But this seems way too easy. I know that Skye deactivated the security, but something seems off here. And my instincts are usually very good about things like this. Better watch my back, especially since this place is crawling with guards.” _

Grant took a breath and slipped out of the vault with the briefcase in hand. All he had to do now was make it back outside in one piece and get to the extraction point. He quickly headed back down the hallway, retracing his steps to find his way back out. It all seemed way too easy, he expected at least a little resistance on the base’s end of things. But maybe this was just one of those simple missions where it took no effort for him. 

But, of course, nothing could ever be that easy.

Grant halted in his tracks as four heavily armed men practically materialized right in front of him. They must’ve appeared from a side hallway or something, he wasn’t quite sure to where they came from. He spun around to try and go back the other way, but found that it was blocked by four more guards. 

_ “Well, shit.” _

Slow, drawn-out clapping suddenly echoed out in the hallway, causing Grant to turn back around. He frowned as he saw an older man, of course in a lab coat, appear from behind the first four guards. 

“I’d congratulate you, agent, but I would like my serum back.” the man said in a disapproving tone. “I’m surprised that you made it this far, considering our security systems are state of the art. But this is where you fail. Hand over the briefcase and maybe, just maybe, I’ll spare you.”

“Give me a fucking break.” Grant spat, gripping the case even harder. “Just step aside and let me go. SHIELD will be here in no time to arrest you.”

“They won’t arrest me if you’re dead. I’m surprised that they sent in one lone man against an entire army. It’s like they sent you to your death. One human can’t do anything, even if you are an elite SHIELD agent.”

Grant inhaled a sharp breath and carefully set the briefcase on the floor beside him. He spread his hands out at his sides and smiled, the infernal light beginning to shine in his eyes, “Good thing I’m not human.” he growled, letting the dark red flames spark to life within his palms. He launched himself forward and grabbed two guards, burning their armor as he flung them into the wall, knocking them both out. 

He growled again and spun around with inhuman speed to face the scientist, “I’m a fucking one man army.”

The scientist stepped back in surprise, but tried his best to keep his composure. He smiled, “Well, you would be an  _ excellent _ specimen for us to use.” he crooned. “We’re always looking for new experiments.” He stepped back and motioned for the remaining six guards to confront Grant all at once, which was really a huge mistake on his part.

Two guards managed to restrain Grant as he kicked one in the chest and sent him flying several feet back. Grant struggled to peel the guards off of him, but only got two more on him. He would’ve normally been able to fling them off with ease, but there were two many on him at once for him to properly fight back. And, unfortunately, his anger was already starting to grow. He just wanted the assholes off of him.

“Get off!” Grant screaming, his body briefly turning into a pillar of fire as flames shot out of him, blasting the four agents away. 

The scientist watched with utmost curiosity as the flames smoldered off of Grant, not particularly caring that the four agents were now laying burned on the ground. An inhuman-sounding noise rumbled from Grant as the flames burned away to reveal that he was unscathed, minus the fact that his tac gear was now in shambles. 

His chest armor was gone and his shirt was barely even there. Holes perforated his pants as well. Normally, his clothes really never got burned anymore, but the flames were just burning a little too hot today. He narrowed his blood red eyes, “You ready to give up?” he asked, his voice somewhat distorted. “‘Cause I’m just getting starting and I’ve barely even done anything. You’ve got two men left. Now, let me go and I won’t kill you.”

The scientist smiled and looked briefly to something behind Grant before returning his gaze to the man, “Oh, you may think that, but it is I who has the upperhand here.” he teased, nodding to whatever was behind Grant.

“What?” Grant asked, beginning to turn around. But he stopped as two bullets suddenly fired and he felt pain ripping through his stomach. He looked to see one of the remaining guards pointing a gun at him. Shit, he had forgotten about the two other guards. 

Grant’s eyes shifted to a visible hole in his shirt where he could see blood pooling on his skin. He snarled and launched himself forward towards the guard, but was only met with three more bullets into his stomach. He dropped to the ground in a pool of his own blood, clutching at his stomach. Even a demon could fall to bullets, especially five in the gut. 

The scientist laughed and walked towards Grant’s fallen frame, “Oh my, it seems that you’re not as invincible as you thought.” he sneered, bending down to pick up the serum case. “I’ll just let you die and have someone retrieve your body. I’ll have fun with it.” He laughed again and walked away with the two remaining guards. 

Grant’s mind had already gone numb and he could hardly even feel anything past the searing pain in his gut. But he had already begun to accept the inevitable, he was going to die.  _ “Can’t die. Can’t fail Skye. Can’t fail her. I can’t die.”  _ he repeated in his head, trying to drag himself to the nearest wall to try and prop himself up. He left a trail of blood as he went.

“ _ Grant? _ ” Skye’s voice suddenly crackled in his ear. “ _ Are you okay? We’ve got reports of gunfire and your vitals just went crazy. Grant? _ ”

No response. 

“ _ Grant! _ ”

Grant was unable to respond, but he had been able to prop himself up against the concrete wall. His own blood stained his hands as he tried to stop the bleeding. Why wasn’t he healing? It should’ve been healed by now. Perhaps his body was in far too much shock to heal itself. He started to shake as he realized that there was nothing that he could do. He couldn’t cauterize the wound because he couldn’t be burned. And there was nothing around to treat the wound  with. He was going to die here with five bullets in his stomach. 

But this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He had just gotten married to Skye a month and a half ago. They were supposed to be happy together and eventually have a family of their own. He was supposed to be a superhero. Now he was propped up against the wall of an illegal science base bleeding out. He swore he was going to die.

But other forces decided another fate for him.

Grant’s vision grew blurry as he weakly ripped the rest of his shirt off and pressed it up against the wound. He stopped as he felt something hard grate against the skin of his fingers. His eyes trailed down and froze in utter horror as he saw a black substance spreading over his skin away from the wound. Just like a bruise. 

_ A bruise. _

He dropped the remains of his shirt and saw that the wound was gone, covered over by the rock-like bruise. The very same bruise from his nightmares. The bruise that covered the monster’s skin. 

He bent over and threw up, trying to deny everything that was happening. He screamed out as a wave of intense pain suddenly shot through him and he doubled-over onto the ground. He could hear distorted garbling in his ear, but he wasn’t registering what it was saying. 

Another wave of pain shot through him and he screamed out once more, but this time it was more of an animalistic sound. His hands suddenly grew heavy and he brought them to his face to see that the rock was now starting to cover them as well.

_ “I’m not the monster. I’m not the monster.”  _ he silently pleaded with himself.  _ “Anything but that. _ ”

As the rock made its way across his hands, tiny cracks started to form. They shone with an eerie, hellish light as Grant screamed out again, ignoring the fact that something sharp in his mouth pierced his lips. There was a burning on his forehead and his lower back and he could slowly being to feel his consciousness fade away.

Something else was taking over. 

Grant’s back arched back as a violent tremor shook his body. The rock began to encase him like a cocoon. Whatever hellish metamorphosis this was, he wanted it to end. But there was nothing he could do about it. He screamed out once more as his mind faded. 

Dark red flames shot from his body and obscured him from view, finalizing the infernal mutation. A screech-like laugh echoed out from the burning mass of flames as Grant Ward temporarily faded out of existence. 

And the nightmare had finally become the twisted and wicked truth in this cruel and cold world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, unfortunately, I'm leaving it there. The next chapter will be from Skye's POV starting from where this chapter left off. I know that I didn't keep it happy for long, but the angst had to return sooner or later. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (Maybe five or more comments? This is really where I'd like to know what you think!)


	41. And I Saw the Creature Deep Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's nightmare becomes the haunting reality.

(The Same Time, Elsewhere)

“Grant! Grant!”

Skye slammed her hand against the console as all of the screens went completely black, “Dammit!” she screamed. Her heart was racing and she could feel her control on her powers beginning to break as tears started to stream down her face. 

She had just watched her husband get shot several times before her connection to the science base’s surveillance system blacked-out. And she honestly had no idea to what was going on now. Was he dead? Was he still alive and just needed help? 

_ God _ , she hating feeling helpless like this.

“Coulson! Coulson!”

The older agent soon came running into the small comms room from his position from outside, “Skye, what the hell is going on?” he asked cautiously. He paused as he saw the tears staining her face along with the blackened screens and he immediately knew what had happened. He quickly activated his comms and began barking orders into it, “Go ahead and send that strike team into the base! Agent Ward is down. I repeat, Agent Ward is down! Go in with caution and find him!”

He turned back to Skye and immediately took her into his arms to help ease her sobbing, “It’s okay, Skye. Everything will be okay. Grant’s near indestructible, remember?” he said quietly. “It’ll take a nuclear warhead to kill him.”

“H-He got shot.” Skye managed through her tears, the ground slightly shaking beneath them. “I counted five bullets before the screens went blank.”

Coulson took a sharp breath, feeling tears stinging at his own eyes. Even though it would take a hell of a lot to kill Grant, he couldn’t help but to fear that his son was going to die. He pulled away and clenched his fist, looking at the dead screens, “So what could’ve happened to make the systems go dead?” he asked, trying to fix things. “You had a stable connection and everything. They shouldn’t have been able to disconnect you. So something else happened.”

Skye took a shaky breath and shook her head, “I would’ve known if they had interfered. It’s like the systems themselves went dead.” she began to explain, heading back towards the console. “Like something fried them.”

“You don’t think Grant did something to them, do you?”

“I… I don’t see how he would’ve been able to do such a thing. I know that he didn’t have an EMP on him.” she answered, wiping at the tears on her face. “But something doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s possible that Grant went supernova on them.”

Skye frowned and looked towards Coulson, “Supernova?”

“If the flames build up too much in his body, he basically turns into a bomb.” Coulson began to explain carefully. “It’s possible that his body did that in response to being shot like that.”

“No.” Skye shook her head. “Then the strike teams would’ve reported an explosion. And the feeds went dead right after Grant pulled himself to a wall and propped himself up.” She gulped and sniffed, “Something’s wrong. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.”

“Try to get the feeds back up and I’ll communicate with the strike teams to see what’s going on. We need to figure out just what the hell is going on before it’s too late.”

Skye nodded and began typing varying commands into the computer system as Coulson walked out to reestablish his connection with the head of one of the strike teams in the enemy base.

“Winters?” he asked. “Winters, do you copy? Do you have visual of Agent Ward yet? We’ve lost our visuals and are working on it.”

_ “Coulson,”  _ Winters’ voice sounded strained and scared.  _ “Something’s wrong here. It’s a complete horror fest. Something’s torn apart most of the guards the guards and has burned a few others. Everything’s on fire and we have no visual of Ward. We think one of the group’s experiments got out or something.” _

Coulson’s stomach fell. The only thing that could’ve burned the guards would’ve been Grant, but Grant wouldn’t of had been able to tear apart anyone. Something was wrong, very wrong.

“Winters, keep searching for Ward. We’re not pulling out until he’s found.”

_ “Copy that, but we can’t stay in here much longer. The flames are too hot and smell of rotten eggs for some reason. I-”  _ Winters suddenly stopped and started screaming.

“What the hell is going on?! Winters?!”

_ “I don’t know! Something big and angry is chasing us!”  _ Winters screamed. It sounded as though he was running and Coulson swore that he had heard a roar-like noise in the background.  _ “We can’t outrun it! I-”  _ The connection went dead.

“Shit!” Coulson spat, ripping his comms piece from his ear and throwing it to the ground. It sounded as though he had just lost an agent. Something was in that base and it didn’t want anyone getting out.

But something big and angry? There was no record of the group keeping any kind of monsters in their ‘care’. But the part that really got to Coulson was the fact that Winters had said that the flames smelled like rotten eggs. 

Sulfur. 

The only flames he knew that smelled of sulfur were Grant’s own. So that confirmed that Grant had set the base ablaze, but what was the thing chasing the strike team? Something wasn’t adding up and Coulson didn’t like it one bit. 

“Skye!” Coulson marched back into the comms room. “Please tell me you’ve got those feeds back up and running. There’s a situation and I need to figure out just what the hell is going on.”

“Wait, I’ve almost got it.” Skye hit a few more keys and the screens blazed to life. “There!”

The two’s eyes immediately went to the feed that showed the hallway that Grant had been in. The scene looked like a landscape worthy of hell itself. Several bodies laid strewn across the floor, either mangled or burned to death. Flames danced around in almost every square inch of the hallway.

And Grant was nowhere in sight.

“I-I don’t understand.” Skye stammered, staring at the screen. “He was just here a few minutes ago. And what’s with the bodies? Grant’s not a killer like that.”

Dread had begun to settle its way into the pit of Coulson’s stomach. He had a really bad feeling about this. He just didn’t want to tell Skye of what he suspected just yet. “Cycle the footage.” he ordered.

“For what? Grant?”

Coulson shook his head, “No. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, but I have a bad feeling that I’ll know it when I see it. Just cycle the footage and I’ll tell you when to stop.”

“Okay.” Skye began to cycle through the different feeds that she was connected to. Each one just showed a burning hallway or SHIELD agents searching the base. Well, not until Coulson pointed something out.

“There! Stop it there!”

Skye stopped the cycle and focused on the feed that Coulson wanted to see. She frowned as she saw some kind of hulking figure stalked across the footage, “What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling that that’s what I’m looking for.” Coulson said, a hint of fear in his voice. “Zoom in on it.”

“What the hell is going on, Coulson? This isn’t Grant.” Skye asked sternly, zooming the feed in. We need to find him.”

Coulson held up a hand, “Just watch that thing. It’s currently rampant in that base and I’m pretty sure that it just killed one of the strike teams that I sent in.” he explained. “Something’s wrong. Just watch.”

As they studied the creature closely, they started to make out certain things about its features. It seemed to be somewhere over seven feet tall and extremely bulky. Some kind of black, rock-like material covered its entire body, which was littered with hundreds of small cracks that emitted a hellish light. Small horns protruded from its forehead while a long, black tail swished behind it. They could faintly tell that its ears were long and pointed.

“What. The. Hell.” Skye said through clenched teeth. “What the hell is that thing?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Skye continued to study the creature, her stomach churning as she did so. “You know,” she began slowly. “That thing kind of looks like….” she trailed off slightly and frowned. “A demon…”

Coulson ran a hand down his face, “Shit. That was what I was afraid of. I just didn’t think that something like that would actually happen to him.”

Skye’s face paled and she looked to Coulson, “Wait, are you saying that fucking thing is my  _ husband _ ?” she asked incredulously. “There’s no way that that thing is Grant!”

“I don’t want to believe it, but it makes sense. You know that we were always afraid that there was something more to him.” Coulson stated solemnly, watching as the creature, presumably Grant, stalked away. “The higher-ups were always afraid that a monster was hiding inside of him. I’m saying that that’s the monster.”

“No!” Skye almost screamed, the ground jolting. “That’s not him! He’s not a monster!”

“I’m not saying he’s a monster. That  _ thing  _ is a monster, but there’s no way that it’s Grant acting on his own. But we need to go, now. It shouldn’t take long to get to that base. Hopefully we can find Grant. I want this to be a lie.”

“It’s a fucking awful lie.”

* * *

 

(Sometime Later)

Skye cringed as she stepped over a burned dead body. That was like the fifth one she had seen since she and Coulson had gotten into the base. She refused to believe that Grant had done such a thing. Grant wasn’t a killer like that. Not one bit. So there was no way that he was the monster that they had seen. She just wanted to find him and prove that Coulson was wrong.

The flames had long died away, but the stench of sulfur still hung heavy in the air. Skye really hoped that they could find Grant soon so they could get the hell out of here. But, honestly, would they be able to find him? Was he still here? And if they did find him, would he still be the same after whatever the hell that had been?

She just wanted her husband to be okay. He had suffered far enough in his past 22 years. He deserved a break, but it always seemed that the universe kept finding new ways to fuck him over. Hell, they hadn’t been married for two months yet. She just wanted everything to be okay. She didn't want this to ruin what she and Grant had finally had. But she was glad that he was still alive. She just hoped that he was the same man.

They continued walking until another agent flagged them down.

Coulson took a breath and approached the agent, “What happened here?” he asked.

The agent shrugged, “We came in after the attack, but apparently some kind of monster attacked the base. We’ve found about eight dead bodies. But, luckily, we just found Agent Ward. He’s alive, but he’s unconscious. He seems to be fine, but…”

“But, what?” Skye asked harshly, coming to stand beside Coulson.

“He’s… He’s changed.”

“Changed how?”

The agent gulped and turned around, motioning for them to follow him, “You really have to see it for yourself.” he stated. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”

Skye and Coulson casted uneasy glances at one another before following the agent. 

Changed? Just how could’ve Grant changed? It didn’t make a lick of sense to Skye, and she was honestly afraid to find out just what had become of her husband. She really hoped that it wasn’t too bad.

The agent led them to an open hallway where several agents were standing guard around a fallen body. He stopped and pointed, “That’s him. We decided to watch him in case that monster came back, but it seems as though it’s gone.”

Skye wasted no time running over to Grant’s unconscious side, but immediately froze at the sight of him. “What the hell?” she muttered. 

Grant’s shirt was completely gone and his pants were barely hanging on him. Scorch marks crisscrossed his body. But that wasn’t what made Skye freeze.

It was how he had  _ changed _ .

Well, he hadn’t changed by much, but there were now three new features about his physiological makeup that weren’t there before. His ears now ended in sharp, well-defined points and Skye could faintly tell through his parted mouth that his canines had grown into sharpened fangs. The most unsettling sight of all was the jet-black tail that protruded from his tailbone and ended in a large and curled puff of black fur-like hair.

If he hadn’t looked like a half-demon, half-human hybrid before, he surely looked like one now.

“What the  _ hell _ ?” Coulson asked in disbelief as he came up to the two, seeing Grant’s new features,“I… I guess that confirms that Grant was that, uh, monster.”

Skye gulped, taking Grant’s hand. She noticed that his wedding band had disappeared; it had probably burned off. She looked back up to Coulson as she ran her finger over the calloused skin of Grant’s palm, mainly to soothe herself, “What the hell do we do now?”

“We take him back to base and get him back to your bunk.” Coulson began, walking over to help get Grant up. He motioned for two of the other agents to help him out. “We don’t need to cause a scene with him and he doesn’t seem hurt. Stay with him and I’ll go notify the higher-ups of what happened. For the time being, we just try our best to make him as comfortable as possible until we figure out what happened with him.”

Skye nodded and stood up as Coulson and the two agents started carrying Grant’s unconscious form away, “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“I don’t know. Right now, it’s only a matter of how he is when he wakes up. He’s not going to take his, uh,  _ change  _ lightly. 

I know that he’s going to hate himself again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened. Grant ended up turning into the monster from his dreams and he came out of it changed. Now it's just a matter of if the monster stays away and if Grant can accept his new changes. And if you need a image of how Grant looks like now, Rin Okumura from Blue Exorcist is the inspiration! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	42. And I Must Confess That I Feel Like a Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant awakens to find out what has become of him.

(Sometime Later)

Once Skye and Coulson got Grant back to the base, it took about three more hours for Grant to wake up from whatever had happened to him. Coulson had been immediately called by the higher-ups for him to explain just what the hell was going on, and he really didn’t know how to explain what had happened without making Grant seem like some kind of monster.

And Grant was the farthest thing from a monster. He was just a victim of circumstance. He didn’t ask for any of what had happened to him in the past 22 years. He couldn’t help what his genetics made him out to be.

And, truly, there was no telling to how he would be like when he woke up. Skye really hoped that he would be okay, but she really wasn’t sure if that hope could hold up. If that monster had really been the thing hiding inside of him for all of this time, there was no telling to what it would do to him in the end. 

What would happen if he truly fell to his own demonic nature? Skye wanted to believe that he wasn’t capable of evil, but how was that possible when evil literally ran in his veins? Could he fight against what his biology made him out to be? Or would he fall to it in the end and truly become the monster everyone feared he was?

Skye tried to shake that thought out of her head as she watched Grant’s still-sleeping form on the bed beside her. There was no way that her husband was an evil creature at all, his actions towards her proved that he wasn’t. Yes, he may seemed like a monster to others, but that was just because no one would give him a chance. If one treated him like a monster, then he would act like one. No one gave him the chance to reveal who he really was.

She sighed and reached over, taking one of Grant’s hands in her own, “Grant,” she began. “I just hope that you’ll wake up soon and you’ll be okay. I don’t want to lose you now.” she whispered. “We’re supposed to have a perfect life together, remember? I don’t want hell to take you now.”

She continued to study Grant’s new features. It was just hard to take in the fact that he had changed. She touched the fine point of one of his ears, “I’d make a joke about you being an elf, Grant, but you’re too freaking tall for that.” she tried to joke. “Well, that and the fact that you have sharp fangs and a tail now.” She reached out and ran her fingers through the curly puff of fur on the end of his long, thin tail, which happened to be incredibly soft, “I could get used to how you look, Grant. It’s not that big of a change. You still look like Grant Ward to me. But I don’t know how you’re going to take it at all.”

Shaking her head, Skye leaned back against the headboard and continued to run her fingers over the calloused skin of Grant’s hand. She wasn’t sure of how long she did this, but it seemed like a while until Grant’s fingers twitched and she heard a low groan from him.

She looked over as Grant suddenly bolted up and scampered back, falling off of the bed with a thud, “Grant?!” she exclaimed, immediately heading over to him. 

He was looking all around, a scared look in his eyes. Once his eyes landed on Skye and he realized that he was there, he immediately calmed down, “Skye?” he croaked, voice full of fear. “I’m not dead?”

Skye’s face fell and she placed a hand on his shoulder, “No, you’re not.” She paused for a moment, “Grant, what’s the last thing that you remember?”

He shook his head, “I-I remember getting shot. Five times.” he stammered, leaning up against his wife for comfort. “Then everything went black. I….” he trailed off and his face drained of all of its color, “It came. It came for me.”

“ _ It _ ?” Skye asked worriedly. She had a bad feeling that he meant the monster that had ravaged the science base.

“The monster from my dreams. It came for me. It dragged me down. How the hell am I still here?”

Skye gulped and ran a reassuring hand down Grant’s arm, “Grant, sweetheart, I don’t know what happened to you. But there was some kind of  _ creature _ in that base.” she began. “It disappeared before we found you unconscious.”

“What did it look like?!” Grant demanded, sadness shining in his whiskey-brown eyes. “Did you see it? Did it have black skin?”

“I saw it from the security feeds back here, but it did have black skin. From what I could tell, it had a long, black tail and pointed ears. It was really hard to tell.”

Grant’s face fell, “That’s it. That’s the monster. It came from me and it took me.”

“What do you mean it ‘took’ you?” Skye asked, continuing to stay close to him.

“I-It’s been in my dreams the past couple of years. The bruises….” Grant’s eyes widened, “I-I’m the monster. That thing was me.”

“Grant,”

“S-Stay away from me!” Grant screeched, scampering backwards to try and get away from Skye. “I don’t want to hurt you! I don’t know where the monster is now!”

“Hey, hey!” Skye spoke up, scooting closer to him to show that she wasn’t going to run away. “Grant, that monster, whatever it was, is gone for now. You’re okay. And I know that you won’t hurt me no matter what. Remember, you’re incapable of hurting me.” She sighed and ran a hand down the side of his face, “I’m not running. Even if you did turn into some kind of monster, that means shit to me. You’re not a monster, Grant. You’re incapable of just that. Whatever it does, it’s not your fault. I’m staying.”

Grant started to shake as he looked down to his hands, “Why does bad things always happen to me?” he asked. “Why can’t things go right for once? Why does there always have to be something else lurking around the corner for me?” He looked up at Skye with tears in his eyes, “Why do I have to suffer like this?”

Skye wrapped her arms around Grant, “Sweetheart, that’s a question I can’t answer. I know that you don’t deserve any of this, but I don’t know to why it happens.” she stated softly. “But no matter what, you’re still the man I love.”

“Am I okay right now?” he asked, nuzzling his head into her shoulder. “I’m not hurt?”

She shook her head, “No, you’re not hurt. Like I said, a few agents found you unconscious. Scorch marks covered your body and you were only in tattered pants, so I guess that confirms that monster thing.” She sighed and ran her fingers through his messy hair, “We brought you back here and I cleaned  you up and put new clothes on you. You’ve been sleeping ever since.”

“So the monster did nothing to me? It’s like it didn’t happen?”

Skye’s stomach dropped. How could she explain to him that he had changed in a few ways without upsetting him? “I…. I wouldn’t exactly say it’s like nothing happened.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“You better take a look for yourself, I don’t know how to explain it to you.” Skye nodded towards the bathroom.

Grant frowned and almost immediately jumped up and ran into their small bathroom. Skye braced herself for what was coming, hoping that it wouldn’t be too bad. She didn’t know how Grant would react to his new features.

“What the  _ hell _ ?!” Grant yelled. “No, this isn’t right! I’m supposed to look human!”

Skye stood up and Grant came running out of the bathroom, a scared look on his face and tears in his eyes. “What the hell is this?” he asked painfully. He pointed to his ears and opened his mouth to show his very sharp canines. “I have a fucking tail!” he yelled, his tail swishing violently behind him. 

“Grant, sweetheart, it’ll be okay.” Skye began, coming up to him and placing her hands on his shoulders. “I don’t think it matters if you look slightly different.”

“Of course it does, Skye!” Grant snapped, anger flaring in his eyes. “I’m already ridiculed enough! How the hell am I supposed to go around with a damned tail and fucking elf ears?! I can’t hide that! Now I really look like the monster everyone thinks I am!”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant….” she trailed off and sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to tell you. I don’t care that you look different, not one bit. I do know that others probably won’t take too kindly to what’s happened with you. But, honestly, if they try to give you hell for it, punch them in the face and tell them to fuck off. Or I’ll do it for you.” She gave him a reassuring smile, “What you look like doesn’t matter, it’s your heart. I don’t think anything else has changed. You still seem to be the same old Grant Ward you were before the mission. So what if you have a monster hiding underneath your skin? So what if you have weird ears, fangs, and a tail? 

That doesn’t matter. You just gotta prove that you’re still a hero and that you still have a big heart.” she continued. She kissed him on the cheek, “In all honestly, you are  _ not  _ a monster at all.”

Grant gulped and looked to the side, “You really think so?” he asked. “Even with that creature?”

“As far as I’m concerned, that creature isn’t you. It may have used your body, but it isn’t you.” Skye reached out and ran a finger over the point of his right ear, “You’ll be fine, I promise. I know that it’ll be hard to get used to, but you can do it. You’re a survivor, right?”

He managed a slight smile and his tail wagged slowly behind him, “I guess you’re right, Skye. This doesn’t make me a monster. I’m still me. As long as you’re fine with everything.”

Skye smiled, “Of course I’m fine with everything. And besides, I think your tail is kind of cute.” she stated, poking him in the chest. 

Grant ducked his head and looked to the ground, not saying anything. He eventually looked back up and held out his left hand, “I think I destroyed my wedding band.” he stated meekly, trying to move the subject on. “I probably shouldn’t wear it on missions.”

“Well, there’s actually a spare around here somewhere.” Skye began, walking towards their dresser. “I bought an extra one in case the first got destroyed. Always good to be prepared.” She dug in the top drawer and pulled out a small box, “Have you thought of getting a tattoo ring? It would always be on you and there’s no chance of you destroying it.”

He shrugged as Skye came back up to him and she slipped the ring on his finger, “Never thought about it. And I don’t like needles, remember?”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “The mighty half-demon is still afraid of needles?”

“They’re very sharp and they hurt.”

She rolled her eyes and tugged at his hand, “Figures. Come on, you probably need to rest some more and I could use a nap. Coulson should be back later, we have time.” she stated, dragging him towards their bed. “Just some us time.”

Grant didn’t protest as Skye pulled him into bed. He just wrapped himself around her and drew her close. He gently laid his tail across her and knew that it would take a lot to get used to the extra limb. “Sorry if I scared you.” he muttered.

“Grant, you have nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault. You didn’t ask for any of this. 

Nothing’s your fault.”

* * *

 

(Elsewhere)

“So you’re telling us that Agent Ward was the creature that slaughtered the strike team?”

Coulson grimaced underneath the higher-up’s gaze, “Yes and no.” he stated. “I mean, I believe that he transformed into that being, but there’s no way that he was in control. Grant isn’t a killer like that. He wouldn’t kill SHIELD agents. The guards are another story, but he wouldn’t kill his own teammates.”

“Even if what you say is correct, you do realize how big of a threat Ward is now, correct?”

“Yes, I do. I know that this is the monster we’ve all been afraid of.” Coulson continued, slowly nodding his head. “But I assure you that Grant’s still a fully capable agent. His heart is still in the right place. You can do all of the tests on him you want, but it won’t show that he’s evil. He still has a soul.”

“And you do realize if we do find Grant Ward guilty of the crime of the four murders, he’ll be executed, right?”

“Yes… I do.” Coulson gulped, “I know that was one of the agreements upon the terms of him being an agent. If he was deemed too dangerous of a threat, he would either be put into permanent containment or executed. But I can prove to you that he’s no more a threat than he was yesterday. Just give me time to prove that he’s not at fault for the murders and that the monster truly isn’t him. Please.”

The three higher-ups looked at one another before one spoke.

“Alright, we’ll give you a chance, but Ward is off of active duty until it is proven that he’s not a lethal threat. Tomorrow, he is to undergo testing to ensure that he’s still stable and he is to testify to us in a few days once he’s recovered from today. He is to be watched at all times and if anything does indeed happen again, there is a shoot to kill order out on him. Understand?”

Coulson nodded numbly, not able to believe that Grant was suddenly being made SHIELD’s prisoner. One misstep and Grant would be executed, all because of something he couldn’t help. The higher-ups all knew that Grant was a good man, they were just afraid of what he was capable of now that the monster had shown itself.

“Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that everything goes smoothly.”

“Good. And be able to give us one good reason to why Grant Ward truly isn’t the devilish monster we all know that he already is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where I really want to scoop Grant up and give him a hug. I know I'm putting him through so much right now, but I promise that things will get better soon. They can't get much worse than this, and this actual AU was much, much worse that this will ever be. I can promise that. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	43. I Am not Your Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's mood falls in the aftermath.

(The Next Morning)

Grant stood uncomfortably as several sci agents swarmed around him, taking series of vitals and some vials of blood from him. He grimaced and looked to Skye, whom of which sat in a chair a few feet away, “Remind me again why I’m being subjected to even more testing. I don’t like this.” he stated.

Skye smiled and shrugged, “Guess the higher-ups wanted to make sure that everything’s okay with you after yesterday’s events.” she answered. “They’re just being cautious, that’s all, sweetheart. It’s not that bad.”

“Yeah, you’re not the one standing in the middle of a lab in just your underwear while sci agents poke and prod at you.” he grumbled, his tail swishing slightly behind him. 

“Well, I quite like the sight I’m seeing.” Skye commented with a smirk, her eyes trailing her husband’s abs. “It’s a great view.”

Grant blushed and looked to his bare feet, “Yeah, but I don’t like exposing myself in front of people that aren’t you.” he stated firmly. “It’s awkward in front of a ton of sci agents. I don’t see why I needed to strip down to my underwear just to have my vitals taken and my blood drawn.”

“Maybe it’s like being in a hospital gown without the gown?” Skye suggested, giving him a shrug.

He narrowed his eyes, “You’re not helping here, babe.” he stated. He sighed and turned to one of the sci agents, “Hey, how much longer until we’re done here?” he asked. “I’d like to put my clothes back on soon.”

The sci agent stopped and briefly looked him over, “Just give us a few more minutes.” he answered. “We’ve got enough blood to test and we’ve already examined your vitals. There’s just a few more things that we would like to look at.” He walked closer to Grant and pulled something out of the pocket of his lab coat.

“Like what?”

“Open your mouth.” the agent stated, suddenly shoving what seemed to be a tongue depressor into Grant’s mouth. 

Grant’s eyes widened as he was forced to hold his mouth open, his tongue being pressed down as the agent seemed to examine his canines.

“The structure of his canines is amazing.” the agent began, motioning for another agent beside him to start taking notes. “They’re unlike an animal’s, but still retain the basic structure of human canine teeth despite being about half an inch longer and a whole lot sharper.” He forced Grant to shut his mouth, “And his jaw still seems to sit in a natural position as well.”

He pulled away from Grant, causing the half-demon to glare at him. “You done playing dentist?” he asked coldly, rubbing his jaw. “You wanna check for cavities while you’re at it?”

The sci agent frowned at him, “We are simply studying every new aspect of you, Agent Ward, even though that may not be a lot. Your biology has always fascinated us, so the fact that there’s something new is utterly astounding.” He pointed at Grant’s tail, “Especially that. A human tailbone is a vestigial structure, meaning it has no function. A developing fetus has a tail-like structure for a period of time before it shrinks and the tailbone is formed. 

That makes us wonder how that tail formed. I mean, your physiology has always been human, so how could a tail suddenly form like that? I know that your biology is mostly demonic in nature, so it’s hard to explain anything that happens with you. But that tail is an absolute marvel. It seems to be like an animal’s tail, meaning it’s composed of mainly cartledge. I-”

Grant held up a hand, “Look,” he cut in. “I’m not here to get a science lesson on my features. I just want to know if that monster did anything to me. I want to know if it’s  _ gone _ .” His tone was tense and cold, “And you’re busy geeking out when you should be figuring out what the hell is wrong with me.”

“Agent Ward, we,”

“We’re done here.” he hissed, baring his fangs and turning away from the scientists and stalking back towards Skye. “I think you’ve got enough from me.” He snatched his clothes from the pile they were in next to Skye’s chair and grabbed her hand, “Come on, Skye, we’re leaving.”

Skye tried to protest, but figured that it was no good to try and do so with Grant being in a mood. He had been in a sour mood ever since he woke up yesterday after the incident. She knew that it was just him trying to cope with everything that had happened to him in the past day, but his attitude was still unnecessary.

“Grant,” she began once they were in a side room away from the labs. “You didn’t have to act so mean towards them, they’re just trying to help.”

Grant glowered as he slipped his jeans on, silently cursing as he accidently hit the sensitive base of his tail. He looked up at Skye and shook his head, “Yeah, but they didn’t have to treat me like some kind of test subject. All they needed to do was take my blood and monitor my vitals, that’s it. I didn’t need them pulling at my tail and ears, and I most definitely didn’t need a dental exam.” he spat, slipping his shirt over his head.

“You know they get excited over the smallest of things. That’s just how the scientists are, Grant. They don’t mean any harm.” Skye came up to him and kissed him on the cheek, “They didn’t mean to anger you.”

Grant paused, looking at his boots that sat next to him. He shook his head and turned to look at his wife, “You’re right. Sorry, it’s just been a  _ really  _ bad day for me.” he stated, bending down to put his boots on. “First I’m told I’m off-duty for further notice and then I’m poked and prodded like some kind of lab rat. I mean, I’m still a fully-capable agent, why take me off of active duty? It’s like they’re punishing me for something I couldn’t help.” He stood back up and his grief-filled eyes drilled straight into Skye’s, “I did nothing wrong.”

Skye’s heart almost shattered at the sight of the sadness in her husband’s eyes. They had become dull and dark again, no light in them whatsoever. The events of the past twenty-four hours had absolutely destroyed him again. The grief and weariness even showed in the way his tail lazily dragged the ground. 

First Grant had transformed into the monster that had apparently haunted his dreams, something that Skye had been meaning to ask him about. Then he had awakened to find that he no longer looked human. And the final nail was the fact that he pretty much couldn’t be a SHIELD agent until further notice.

“Grant,” she began, wrapping an arm around him and beginning to lead him back to their room. “I know that you did nothing wrong, and even Coulson knows that as well. It’s just that the higher-ups are making sure that nothing’s wrong with you, that’s all. I know it’s a little mean for them to suddenly to that, but they mean well. They just don’t want another incident happening.”

“Skye, I don’t even know how many people I killed. I know that I killed guards, but I honestly don’t care about them. I’m glad they’re dead, they’re the ones that tried to kill me. But I know I killed innocent SHIELD agents. My own teammates.” Grant explained sadly, allowing Skye to guide him down the hallway. He tried to ignore the strange stares that he got from passing agents, mainly towards his tail. “I don’t take innocent lives, Skye. That’s not my MO. Those agents never even made fun of me, so I had no reason to hate them. And I killed them.”

“Sweetheart, that wasn’t your fault.” Skye tried to reassure him as they got back into their room. “It’s that monster’s fault. I know that you weren’t in control.”

“It was still my anger, though.”

She got him to sit down on the edge of the bed, “Your anger isn’t you, remember that. You can’t help what happens when you rage. And whatever that monster is, you can’t help what it does.” She paused and looked at him, “That monster…. You said it was from your dreams, what does that mean?” she asked. “You’ve never mentioned a monster in your dreams before.”

Grant’s face paled and knew that he would have to explain that he had been lying to her all along. That he had been hiding his wellbeing from her for the past five years. The bruises, the dreams…. It all had been warnings of what was to come. If only he had realized it sooner.

“I… I….” he trailed off and shook his head. “I’ve been dreaming about that monster off and on for the past five years. I didn’t know what it meant and I never wanted to mention it to anyone.”

“Five years ago is when your personality started changed.” Skye noted. “Does it have to do something with that?”

Grant shook his head, “I don’t know. But I know that it all started with a fight with another cadet towards the end of my first year at the Academy. He picked on me and I snapped. I then flared up and something scared the shit out of him, causing him to run off. I still don’t know what it was to this day, but that’s when the bruises started happening.”

“The bruises?”

“They occurred off and on for a while, then disappeared for long time until one certain event and then yesterday. They’re black, rock-like splotches that form out of nowhere. They never stayed for long, that’s why I never got them looked at. And I refused to believe that there was something wrong with me. Then I connected the fact that the ‘bruises’ looked like the monster’s skin and I faintly realized that the monster and I were the same.

But that was my third year at the Academy, then I kind of forgot about it until yesterday. The rock started forming around the bullet wounds in my stomach and started spreading across my skin.” he continued. “That’s when I realized what was happening. I couldn’t do anything, though. The rock covered me like some kind of hellish cocoon and it was far too late.” he sighed and looked away from Skye, “I should’ve told someone. I didn’t know that it meant something of this caliber.”

Skye bit her lip and sat down right next to Grant, taking his hand, “Grant, you really should’ve told someone, all of this could’ve been prevented.” She sighed, “But I know you’re stubborn and you often refuse to say what’s wrong.”

“I just didn’t want to believe that there was something wrong with me. And I ran from it. I tried to hide it, and look where it’s gotten me now. I’ve done fucked myself up.”

“Sweetheart, you’re not fucked up. You may be a little different now, but that doesn’t make you fucked up.” Skye began, squeezing his hand. “You’re still perfect. You’re the greatest guy in the world, a few new things doesn’t change anything. You’re still the man that I love and you still have the biggest heart.”

Grant blushed and looked down, “I’m just tired of it all, Skye. I’m tired of all the suffering. I just want peace for once, but it doesn’t look like I’ll ever get it.”

“You’ll get it eventually, Grant. We’ll eventually have that family we both really want and we’ll settle down somewhere if SHIELD allows. I know that you don’t want to be an agent forever.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe in a few years or so. I can’t keep doing this forever.”

“See? You’ve got to look at the bright side.” Skye smiled at him and quickly kissed him. “You’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“I hope so. ‘Cause how could something good ever happen to someone like me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In short, Grant still really needs a huge hug. Just wrap him in a blanket and protect him, he doesn't deserve any of this. Also, this fic will go over a slight break over the weekend. It's just so I can finally update my two other fics and post a oneshot or two. But don't worry, I'll be back next week with this. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	44. You're a Monster in My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's trial date arrives....

(Two Days Later)

Grant shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he awaited his trial in front of the SHIELD review board. He pulled at his collar as he looked over to Coulson, whom of which gave him a reassuring smile that did nothing to calm his frayed nerves. Truly, he didn’t understand why he had to have a trial for something that he knew that he wasn’t at fault at. Surely the higher-ups knew that he wasn’t a killer like that. They shouldn’t be so quick to judge him like this.

But were they really in the wrong though? Grant had killed four strike team members after his true side had revealed itself. If that was what Grant had always been destined to become, then why did he feel like the monster wasn’t him? He had _turned_ into that thing, but in all honestly it was like another being had taken over. Grant couldn’t remember any that had happened, but it was still his hands that had killed. It still had been his hidden compulsion to kill that had ended those lives. So didn’t that put him at fault?

He really wasn’t so sure of himself anymore. Hell, he and Skye had been doing so well. They had finally gotten married, their roles in SHIELD were going great, and they had finally started talking about their future. Skye had even mentioned them eventually settling down somewhere and trying to have a kid. But, honestly, Grant was now afraid that all of that had been ruined by the other day’s events. SHIELD would find some reason to find him guilty of the murders and then lock him away, just because they were afraid.

The very same people that had given him a chance and had told him he would become one of their greatest agents were the very same people that were deathly afraid of him. A demon was a highly unknown factor in today’s times, and that terrified them beyond all comprehension.

And Grant couldn’t help any of it.

“Ah, why couldn’t Skye come?” he asked, trying to break the awkward silence. “Wouldn’t she want to be here?”

Coulson took a breath and looked over to his adopted son, “Unfortunately, the board believes that having Skye in here will introduce unnecessary bias into the case.” he explained lightly. “They need you to be fully able to testify for yourself without any ‘interference’.”

“But you’re here.”

“That’s only because I am your SO and I am the one that was responsible for your rescue when you were fifteen.” He sighed and watched as the review board higher-ups began to shuffle into the room. “They also want to make sure that I didn’t make a mistake with bringing you into SHIELD.”

“And did you?”

“No, I don’t believe so. You’re a fiercely loyal agent and I know that you wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone unless they struck first. There’s no way that the monster was you. That’s what I believe, but I’m not so sure to whether or not my say will sway what the higher-ups believe. You better be able to prove that you’re not the monster that they think you are.”

Grant gulped, his palms growing sweaty, “And what if I can’t?”

“Then they’ll find you guilty of four counts of murder and will hole you up in a containment cell out in the middle of nowhere. If they believe you to be a big enough threat, they’ll have you executed to get rid of the ‘problem’.” Coulson looked over and frowned as he saw Grant’s sickened expression, “I’m not sugarcoating it, son. I’m telling you how it is. I don’t want to give you some false sense of hope. You need to be able to fend for yourself in situations like this, I can’t protect you forever.”

“I-I know that.” Grant stammered, watching as the higher-ups rose to their feet. “But all of this is fruitless. I’m not a monster. I’m-“

He was cut off as the sound of a gavel resonated throughout the small room. He looked to see one of the higher-ups nod towards him and Coulson. “Would Agents Ward and Coulson please stand?” he asked, gesturing to the two. “The trial is ready to begin now.”

Grant and Coulson exchanged one last look with one another before they stood to their feet, standing at full attention in front of the superiors.

“Agent Coulson already knows all of the details of this ‘trial’.” the higher-up continued, looking towards Grant. “But this trial is to determine whether or not Agent Grant Ward is guilty of the count of the four murders of SHIELD strike team members and to also prove whether or not he is a threat to humanity. Agent Coulson has already testified with us and we are currently going over all of the test results that the sci agents have gathered. The only thing left is to have Agent Ward himself testify.” He nodded for Grant to step forward.

Grant casted a longing glance towards Coulson before he stepped towards where the higher-ups were seated, “Yes, sir.” he stated firmly.

“Are you fully capable of testifying in your defense?” the superior asked. “Both mentally and physically?”

Grant nodded, “As far as I know, I am. Any residual effects from the other day’s events have dissipated.” he explained. “I am fully capable.” He swallowed, _‘Well, I believe I am. But am I really mentally up to this?’_

The higher-up nodded and took his seat, allowing for another to stand, “First, we would like you to recall your account of the incident.” she began. “What do you recall?”

“I… I was in that science base to retrieve an experimental serum that the illegal group had been working on. It was supposed to be a simple infiltration mission. Grab the serum and bring it back here. But the defense there was more formidable than previously thought.” He paused and shook his head, “I managed to get most of them taken care of, but I had miscalculated the threat.

One of the guards took advantage of me when my anger was starting to muddle my thoughts. Fired five shots straight into my gut. They took the serum back and left me there to bleed out. That’s… That’s when things started to go wrong. I felt something dragging me down. And a rock-like bruise started to form around the wound and it slowly began to encase me like some kind of cocoon. Then everything goes black.

The next thing I remember is waking up back in mine and my wife’s bunk. That’s when I found out about how I _changed._ ” he used that word lightly and brought his tail close to his body. “But I do not remember anything between the cocoon and me waking up. It is a total blank.”

The higher-up nodded, “And you do realize what occurred during his ‘black-out’, right?”

Grant nodded, “I do realize what took place. I know that something took the lives of four strike team agents.” he answered. “And I do know that whatever monster took their lives came from me. But I don’t remember taking the lives of SHIELD agents. So I do not see why I am on trial here for something I cannot remember doing.”

“Even though you may not remember it, it was still your hands that ripped them apart. How is that any different from you committing the crime?”

“It’s because I don’t remember it!” Grant snapped, baring his fangs. “How can I be at fault for something I don’t remember doing? Whatever that monster was, it wasn’t me!”

“Then who was it?”

“I… I don’t know, but give me a chance to figure that out!” Grant pleaded, his tail swishing behind him. “I’d like to know what it was as well, but I know for a fact that the monster wasn’t me! It may have worn my face, but it wasn’t me.”

The higher-up’s lip twitched and she briefly looked to the others behind her. She pursed her lips and returned her gaze to Grant, “You do realize what is at stake here, Agent Ward?” she asked. “Do you realize that if we do prove you guilty for this, you may very well be executed?”

“Yeah, but,”

“There are no buts here, Agent Ward.” she cut in. “If you cannot provide us with a logical reason to why you shouldn’t be deemed an extreme threat, then we should automatically assume that you are no longer capable of being an agent and should be dealt with immediately.”

Grant gulped, feeling his chest start to tighten-up. He knew that he was on the distant verges of a bad panic attack, which was the one thing that he didn’t need right now. He needed to figure out some kind of way to prove that he wasn’t the monster and that he wasn’t at fault, but he honestly had nothing. In all technicality, he _was_ the monster. He _was_ a viable threat to humanity. And he had nothing to prove otherwise. Maybe he should just give up now and accept whatever punishment the higher-ups would end up giving him.

At least no one would ever bother him again if he was dead or contained.

But that was the only good perk of that. He didn’t want to leave Skye or Coulson behind, he still wanted to prove that he was more than capable of being a good SHIELD agent. He just didn’t know what it would take to convince the higher-ups of just that.

“Look,” Grant began. “I know that I have hardly any ground to stand upon to defend myself here, but I’m begging you that you give me a chance. Give me a chance to prove that I’m still fully-capable of being a damn good agent. The monster may come from me, but I want to prove that I am _not_ what it does. Maybe I can learn how to control it so I will be less of a threat.” He paused and clenched his fists, “Please just give me another chance.”

“You do realize that that’s a huge request to make, right?” the higher-up asked. “We cannot be giving out second chances to everyone.”

“I just want another chance to prove myself. I,” Grant started breathing heavily as he became fully aware of the piercing stares of the group of five higher-ups. _God_ , he hated staring. And when did the room become so hot? “I swear… I swear that I can do it. Please, I don’t want this to be ruined, too. Everyone’s…. They’re all afraid of me, even if I haven’t done anything to them. I want to prove that I’m not my biology. Please.”

The higher-up raised an eyebrow and Grant’s growing discomfort, “You will have to do a hell of a lot to prove that you are not guilty and you are not that monster. As far as we’re concerned right now, you are the monster that slaughtered those four guards.”

“I am not that monster!” Grant screamed, his eyes briefly glowing red. His chest was tight and he could hardly even breathe. He didn’t feel good, he wanted to throw up. “I-I-I….” he stammered, not noticing as the higher-ups started to rise to their feet in alarm. He didn’t notice how he was swaying on his feet, “I-I’m still human! I don’t wanna be a monster anymore!” he began to cry. “I don’t wanna hurt anymore.” His eyes started to roll back into his head, “I don’t-“

He collapsed to the ground and fell completely unconscious, his tail splayed out right next to him. Coulson jumped to his feet ran to his son’s side to check on him as the higher-ups ran to join them.

“He’s okay.” Coulson answered. “I think that a panic attack hit him fast and hard, causing him to black-out like that. He just needs to sleep. There was too much pressure on him and he reacted.” He sighed and looked to the superiors, “I promise that he’s still a good kid, he just can’t help that something hides inside of him. I urge you to give him another chance. He wants to prove himself and he still wants to do good things for the sake of SHIELD. Killing or containing him won’t do any good. He’s a good kid.”

“And how can you be sure that the monster won’t come back?”

“I’m not, but I know that Grant will try everything possible to ensure that the monster will not be a problem anymore.” he answered. “I can promise you that.

Grant still has a human soul.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In another episode of Grant needs a big hug.... It seems that the higher-ups aren't willing to give him another chance, mainly because they are so afraid of him. Can he prove that he's not the monster everyone's afraid of, or will he only prove them right in the end? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	45. I Am Become Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the trial proves that everything's not fine.

(Later the Next Day)

“I thought that I would find you here.”

Grant wearily looked up from his glass of whiskey to see Skye walking towards him. He looked back to his glass as she sat on the stool next to him, “I just wanted some peace and quiet.” he muttered. “At least everyone stays away from me in here.”

Skye frowned and quickly scanned the room, seeing that the other agents that were in it were on the far corners of the room, far away from Grant. She bit her lip and looked back to him, “They’re still afraid, aren’t they?”

His shoulders slumped and he took a long sip of his whiskey, “It’s even worse now. It’s like they can’t comprehend the fact that their fellow agent has a tail and fangs.” His voice was shallow and emotionless, “Everything just keeps getting worse and worse for me. Everyone treats me even worse now, I’m in danger of either being contained for the rest of my life or being killed, and I blew my only attempt at a second chance yesterday.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Skye, I passed out right in front of the review board. All because I was afraid and I panicked. All I did was prove that I’m incapable of being an agent.”

Skye frowned and reached out for Grant’s free hand, “Grant, they know that you have issues like that. They’ve known since day one that you have anxiety issues, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” she explained. “And I just talked to Coulson, he’s trying his best to clear things up with them and get you another chance. As far as he knows, they’re considering it.”

Grant lifted his head and looked at Skye, giving her a blank look. The higher-ups were actually considering giving him another chance? But he knew that that would come with more restrictions that he could count. He knew that solo missions weren’t an option for him anymore. There would always have to be someone there monitoring him, making sure that the monster didn’t reappear. Would Skye be enough? Maybe she could get in some field experience. Hell, he didn’t even know anymore.

“Yeah, but there’s no telling how thin of a chance that is.” he stated lightly, bringing his glass to his lips. He paused and shook his head, “One slip-up and it’s either containment or death for me. They’re not taking any chances with me.” He knocked back the rest of his whiskey and set the glass back down with a clink. “They’re looking for the one thing that will prove that I’m the monster that they believe me to be. And I’m honestly starting to believe that they’re right about me.”

“Grant,” Skye warned, placing a hand on his arm. “Don’t do this to yourself. I already don’t like the fact that you’re drinking. If you are to prove yourself to the higher-ups, you don’t need to get into another drunken fight. You know how you are when you get drunk.”

“No, I don’t.” Grant deadpanned. “And besides, that’s only my first glass. And I’m thinking of going to bed for a while. Everything from the past few days have just drained me for some reason. Maybe my body is still getting used to the changes, I don’t know. I still don’t know if the sci agents found anything or not. I want to know whether or not the monster is gone. I want it to be gone. I don’t want to be that monster.”

“And you are not that monster, sweetheart. It may have been your body, but there’s no way that its actions were yours.”

“And what if they were?” Grant asked coldly. “I’m part-demon, Skye. There has to be some kind of evil inside of me, some kind of capability for destruction. So maybe the monster was just my true nature revealing itself, I don’t know. As how much I don’t want to believe it, there has to be some truth in there somewhere. Maybe I’m just finally becoming the monster that I was always meant to be. No… I’ve always been a monster.”

“Monster is just a relative term, Grant. Look from any specific angle and anyone could be a monster. Since people are afraid of what you are, they think that you’re a monster.” Skye gently explained, giving him a soft smile. “But what you are isn’t who you are. You’ve still got a big heart for those you’re actually able to grow close to. Everyone just happens to see the side you show when someone treats you really badly. People just need to learn that you’re just a big sweetheart under all those flames and teeth.” Her smile grew, “You’re not a monster at heart, you’re just a monster by DNA. And those two things are completely different from one another. I’m a monster by DNA as well, so I’m no different than you. You just have a little more to that DNA, that’s all.”

Grant’s lips pulled into a thin smile. Maybe Skye was right. It didn’t matter what his DNA made him out to be, it mattered who his heart made him out to be. Even though he was a monster by genetics, he was still a hero and a protector by heart. People just needed to see that. If they treated him right, then they would get his heart. If they treated him wrong, like how they always did, they would get his genetics.

He nodded wearily, “I suppose you’re right. I should stop fretting over all of this. I guess it really doesn’t matter to what I am…. I just hope that the higher-ups will see that.” He sighed and pushed his empty glass away, “And everyone else as well. I don’t know if I can hold myself back the next time someone bullies me…”

“I think you’ll be fine, Grant.” Skye stated, rising to her feet. “Just give it some time, please.” She paused and looked around again, “You wanna go hole up in the bunk for a while?” she asked. “We don’t have to do anything in particular. We can just rest.”

“Ah, sure. It’s not like I have anything else to do right now.” Grant answered, coming to his feet. “But go ahead to the room, I’m gonna run by Coulson’s office real quick to see if he’s there.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “You don’t want me to come with you?” she questioned. “That’s new.”

Grant gave her a slight smile, “All I’m going to do is see any updates with the whole trial thing have come up. I don’t want to trouble you with anything. And I don’t want you to worry if he is there and he tells us something. Go. I’ll be there in a few.” He took a step towards her and leaned in, brushing his lips against her cheek, “I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

She stepped back and gave him a worried look, “Okay, I’m going to take your word for it. But if you don’t show up in the bunk within fifteen minutes, I’m coming to fine you. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am. I don’t want to disappoint my wife.” Grant gave her a smirk, his tail wagging slightly. “I’ll be back within ten.”

“Alright, see you in a bit.” Skye stated, turning around to leave the room. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Grant watched as his wife left the room, leaving him standing there. It felt kind of awkward without her being there, but he would be in bed with her soon enough. He just needed to see if Coulson was in his office. He sighed and walked out of the room, his shoulders slumping with the weight of the world.

Couldn’t he just have a break for once?

 

* * *

 

(Several Minutes Later)

Grant headed back down the hall away from Coulson’s office. The older agent hadn’t been in there and Grant assumed that he was still busy discussing his trial with the higher-ups. He hoped that meant they were coming to some kind of compromise and would allow him to remain an agent.

He sighed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he made his way down the corridors towards his and Skye’s bunk. Why did the living quarters have to be so far away from the offices? It felt as though miles separated them, and it wasn’t even a big base. At least the corridors were fairly empty, Grant loved the quiet.

Well, until he almost ran smack-dab into another agent.

“Hey, what where the fuck you’re walking!” the agent exclaimed. He turned around with a snarl and froze when he realized who had ran into him, “Oh, it’s you.”

Grant feigned a smile and raised his hands, bringing his tail close to him, “A-Ah, sorry.” he stammered. “I was kind of lost in thought. It’s been a rough couple of days. I just need to get some sleep, that’s all.” He hoped if he acted clueless enough, the agent would just brush him off and walk away.

“What, is that _tail_ of yours interfering with things?” the agent sneered, his eyes trailing from Grant’s sharpened canines to his long, black tail. “What the hell is that thing anyways? Didn’t think that someone like you could become even more a monster than you were before.”

“What?” Grant’s face fell and a muscle in his face twitched. He really hoped that this wouldn’t happen and he already knew the outcome of this. “It’s a tail, so what?” he asked, trying to be a little snarky to try and defend himself. “You jealous that you don’t have one?”

“No.” the agent spat, getting closer to Grant and poking him in the chest. “Why would I want to look like a monster? At least I’m human. You’re just some kind of abomination, that’s what you are. Hell, what are you anyways. All anyone knows is that you’re half-human, then you suddenly sprout fangs, elf ears, and a tail the other day. What the fuck are you?”

Grant snarled and bared his fangs at the agent. Hell, he didn’t even know the agent’s name. He just knew that he was one of the many that hated him for no reason other than the fact that he wasn’t human. “Look,” he began, grabbing the agent by the collar of his shirt. “Don’t even start this. I’m not up to it today. Please, just leave me alone.”

“You’re the one that ran into me.”

“Yeah, but I already said that I was sorry. You’re the one that started attacking me for no reason at all.” Grant hissed, flames dancing in his eyes. “Just drop it and let me go. My wife is expecting me back in our bunk in a few minutes.”

“I still don’t see how anyone would want to marry anyone like you.” the agent chided. “I don’t,”

He stopped as Grant suddenly dropped him , “Look,” the half-demon began again. “I’m gonna give you the chance to run now, because I know that you don’t want to finish that sentence if you value your life.” He leaned in closer and bared his fangs once again, “Leave me the hell alone.”

“Then get out of my face.”

“Make me.”

The agent suddenly shoved Grant back into the wall, with not as much force as he intended to. He didn’t expect for the half-human to be so damn heavy, but it still caused Grant’s head to crack against the stone. A low growl sounded as Grant doubled-over in pain, blood dropping to the ground from where his head had been hit.

“You’ve… You’ve done fucked up now.” Grant growled between heavy breaths. “I can’t… I can’t…”

“Oh, you can’t _what_?” the agent mocked. “You gonna shit yourself?”

“No.”

Grant’s head snapped up and the sight sent the agent scampering backwards. His eyes were a harsh blood-red and his already-pointed ears had elongated by a few inches, jutting out from the sides of his head. He snarled and revealed a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs as blood ran down his forehead.

Luckily, the bruise was nowhere in sight. Yet.

“W-What the hell?!” the agent stammered, backing away. “What the hell are you?!”

Grant snarled again and launched himself towards the agent, and luckily the agent managed to dodge the attack. “You don’t know a demon when you see one?” he hissed, flames beginning to spark from his bare skin. “Or have you shit yourself?” He stood to his full height and laughed, which sounded far from human, “Funny how things turn around when you provoke the wrong person.” His voice was beginning to become distorted and deeper. His face fell and sadness set in, “Why can’t you people just learn to leave me alone? I’ve done nothing to you. I have done nothing to deserve any of this. Just leave me alone.” His face contorted back into a snarl, “Or I will kill you.”

The agent backed away and raised his hands, “Look, man. Just let me live. I… I was just messing with you.” He honestly didn’t know what to say. The half-demon’s emotions were all over the place and he knew that something worse would come if he didn’t leave now. “I was just… I was just…”

He suddenly spun on his heels and ran.

Grant spat as he watched the agent disappear. He suddenly felt woozy as his anger suddenly subsided and his features returned back to normal, well as close to normal as they could be.

“Dammit. What the hell was that?” he asked himself, wiping at his head where blood had begun to dry. Skye would really chew his ass out for this, mainly the fact that he had been injured by another agent. And he really wasn’t quite sure of what had just happened, everything had been one huge blur. He just knew that his emotions had been all over the place, snapping back and forth with no warning at all.

He sighed and started back towards the bunk, really hoping that Skye wouldn’t get onto him for the blood on his forehead. He just couldn’t help what had happened. Hell, he didn’t even know what that had been.

_“Just what are you becoming, Grant? What’s wrong with you? I can’t keep up like this. Sooner or later, I’m gonna crash and everything’s going to burn.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, that proves that everything's not alright with Grant's well-being. But will he manage to prove that he's still a worthy SHIELD agent, or will something happen to throw everything down the drain for him? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	46. Of Shadow and Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Grant's hope in himself dwindles, an unexpected event occurs...

(A Week Later)

A growl ripped from Grant’s chest as he swung a flaming fist into the punching bag in front of him, leaving a blackened and scorched mark upon the leathery material. He swung another and another until his fists were a blur of flames hitting the bag, causing it to begin to smolder. 

“Hey, hey!”

Grant stopped and frowned as Skye suddenly appeared in his field of vision and pulled him away from the bag, which was now starting to smoke heavily. “What was that for?!” he demanded, glaring down at her.

She pointed at the bag, “That. You’re about to make that bag a bonfire.” she stated sternly. “I know that you’re upset, Grant, but that’s no reason to set things on fire.”

“Burning things is how I handle my emotions.” he growled, crossing his arms over his bare and broad chest. “And besides, I’m more than upset. I’m fucking  _ furious. _ ” His lips curled over his fangs and he turned away from his wife, “The higher-ups have no reason to treat me like that.”

“Grant,” Skye began, reaching out and placing a hand on his bicep. “They’re just doing what’s right for most people. So what if they decided that you’re not capable of missions for a while? They’re just making sure that another incident doesn’t happen.”

“They said they were considering putting me back on active duty, Skye.” Grant shot back, sadness lacing his voice. “They said that last week. I don’t know what made them do a complete one-eighty and take me off of active duty for at least a month.” A muscle twitched in his face and he pulled away from Skye, “I just wanted to make a difference, Skye. I can’t do it while I sit back and let everyone else do the job I was supposed to do. The higher-ups are treating me like the monster I know that I’m not. I don’t care about precautions or anything, I just want my job back.”

Skye frowned and took a step towards him, “And you’ll have it back. Just consider this a vacation of sorts. You’ve been non-stop for over two years now, you deserve a break.” she explained lightly, hoping that Grant would take it. “A month long vacation will do you good. I’m not on high duty right now because you’re my partner and they’re not about to assign me with someone else. So I have a bit of a break as well.”

“But you’re still working.”

“That’s because I’m not a specialist, Grant.” Skye answered. “I’m mainly communications, so I have to do computer work as well. But since you’re off-duty right now, I don’t have as much to do. So I can have more free time with you.”

Grant frowned and looked towards the scorched bag, “And when will that be?” he asked lowly. “Knowing SHIELD, they’ll find some way to put you to work.”

She shrugged and reached out to run a gentle hand down the side of his face, “Tomorrow.” she answered lightly. “I have a few things to finish up today, but I promise that I’ll have some free time to spend with you tomorrow. I just happen to be on my lunch break right now and I came to find you. Didn’t expect to find you beating the shit out of a poor, defenseless punching bag though.”

“It’s been a bad week, okay?”

Skye gave him a caring smile and reached up to kiss him on his stubble-covered chin, “I promise that it’ll be better, sweetheart.” she tried to reassure him. “This is just a bump in the road and it’ll soon be smooth sailing from here. I promise.”

Grant looked down and raised an eyebrow at her, “You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Skye looked briefly behind her and returned her gaze back to her husband, She gave him another small smile, “Look, I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

He sighed and nodded, “Okay.” He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips, “I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t get yourself into trouble, okay?” she joked, turning away from him. “Don’t try to burn the building down.”

“I’ll try not to.”

She turned her head back around and stuck her tongue out at him, “But I still love you!” she exclaimed. “You’re my favorite half-demon!”

Grant rolled his eyes and his tail flicked lazily behind him, “I’m the only half-demon you know!”

“Still doesn’t change anything!”

He rolled his eyes again as he watched his wife leave the room. Grumbling under his breath, he turned back to the scorched punching bag,  _ “She’ll never understand what I’m going through.” _ he thought, placing a hand against the leathery material.  _ “She doesn’t have her life being held as some kind of wager. I fuck up once and I’m dead. I still don’t know why the higher-ups suddenly turned against me again. Did they get mad about my drunken fight last week? Maybe that’s it. I really should stop drinking… _

_ But that’s not going to stop my problems. The root of everything is that monster. Either I’ve got to learn how to control it or learn how to lock it away for good.” _ He sighed and walked away from the bag, picking his shirt up off of the ground and heading towards the bench as he slipped it on.  _ “If I don’t, it’ll control me and everything will go to hell. I want to live my own life. I want to be a powerful SHIELD agent, I still want to be a hero. Hell, I want to be a father one day, but I’m starting to think that’s not so good of an idea.” _

He sat down on the bench and held out his hand, staring at it,  _ “The monster has to be hiding just underneath my skin.”  _ he thought.  _ “It couldn’t be that hard to get it to come out. But do I really want to do that, though? If I can’t control it and it takes over, it’ll slaughter everyone in the base and the higher-ups will have me executed. But I need to be able to control it. It can’t hurt to try.” _

He began to concentrate hard, trying to get the bruise to form, but only flames kept sparking to life in his palms. This went on for several minutes before he decided to give up.

_ “It’s no use. It probably only responds to anger or a physical threat. I need something to get angry at or for someone to beat the shit out of me. But that would only make things worse. If it ends up coming out of anger, it’ll rampage just like it did in that science base almost two weeks ago. I have to be able to call on it on a whim, I have to be able to control it. I can’t fall to it and become what everyone believes me to be.” _

“Ah, it’s no fucking use.” he grumbled, standing to his feet. “I don’t know how to call on it. And I’m honestly afraid to. Skye told me not to get into trouble….” He shook his head, his tail wagging slightly behind him, “I’ll find some way to tap into the monster’s potential, but I guess now’s not the time. I should just go find something to eat and hole myself back up in the room. Ain’t nothing else for me to do. Don’t have any friends….”

He began to slowly make his way out of the room, a feeling of melancholy beginning to settle down deep within him. It was moments like these when he began to feel worthless. Everyone but a handful of people treated him like garbage, all because he was different. Hell, he was the strongest agent within SHIELD and no one could see past the fangs and the tail. No one could comprehend that a creature like him could do good. And Grant was beginning to believe that himself. 

Why should he try to strive for something that no one wanted him to do? If everyone treated him like a monster, then why  _ couldn’t  _ he be the monster? A part of him knew that it was wrong and still wanted to be the hero, but the other part was brewing in darkness. That part wanted to latch onto the monster and make Grant’s identity the monster’s. Why should he protect a bunch of bullies and cowards that hated him? He’d rather see them dead than risk his own life trying to protect him. 

It was just his protective instinct. He always had a tendency to protect others, even when it wasn’t the best for him. His younger siblings, Skye, agents in the heat of battle. He couldn’t stray away from lending a helping hand. 

It was like there were two opposing natures within Grant’s soul. One wanted to protect and be the hero while the other wanted to destroy and become the monster. That created a never ending torment within his heart. He was a man of two species, of two souls. But it was only a matter of time before one proved victorious and reigned over the other. And the clock was beginning to wind down.

Grant stopped as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as an eerie energy pulled at the edge of his senses. His tail bristled as he raised his nose to the air and sniffed. A growl rumbled in his chest as his lips curled over his fangs once again. He recognized this feeling anywhere.

_ Intruders. _

He began towards the door, but fire suddenly filled his vision as the earth suddenly shook underneath him. He fell forward as the flames came rushing towards him and everything started to go black.

_ “We’re under attack! Someone’s attacking the base.”  _ he thought as he began to fall into unconsciousness, feeling rubble begin to bury him.  _ “I’ve got to get to Skye… Find her… I need to protect her.”  _ His thoughts faded away as darkness overtook him and flames surrounded him.

But hellfire couldn’t burn a demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And sorry for the wait! I've been sick for the past few days and was unable to write. But I'm better now! So the base has seemingly been attacked, but why? And can Grant possibly live up to his heroic wishes and prove everyone wrong? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	47. Unleash the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The attack goes in the wrong direction...

(Sometime Later)

Grant groaned as he peeled himself from the rubble, the faint sound of an alarm ringing off in the distance as he struggled to move.  _ “Oh God, what happened?” _ he thought, sitting up and allowing his eyes to adjust to the new scene before him. The gym was now a disaster zone, basically nothing but rubble remained of it. Grant looked to see the sky above him, the roof had caved in on him. 

_ “That blast must’ve been really close.”  _ Grant moaned as he tried to move, but found that his leg had been broken. He looked down and saw that his leg was at an unnatural angle.  _ “Shit, that’s not good. I don’t know what the hell’s going on. But it can’t be a coincidence that the bomb went off where I was soon after I was left alone. Is someone after me?” _

Holding his breath, Grant grabbed ahold of his leg and set the broken bone, screaming out in pain as he did so. He closed his eyes and held his head back, trying to ignore the splitting pain. With his insanely high healing factor, the bone should be healed within a couple of minutes, he just had to deal with the pain until it did so.  _ “Where is everyone? Why hasn’t anyone found me yet? I don’t know how much time has passed, so there’s no telling to how long I was buried under there. Either everyone’s busy fighting, or they’ve all been killed.”  _ His stomach dropped as the pain in his leg started to subside,  _ “Where’s Skye?”  _ He rose to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain within his leg,  _ “Where is she?! I can’t lose her! Wouldn’t she be here?!” _

Grant stumbled his way over the rubble, trying to get out of the mess that was the gym. Why hadn’t anyone found him yet? He really hoped that everyone, including Skye, was just fighting whoever had decided to attack the base. And why would someone attack the base? This place was just a small station, not really important to SHIELD’s cause. It wasn’t like the Helicarrier or the Triskelion, so why here? Grant had a bad feeling that the assailants were either after him or Skye. There was always someone itching to get their hands on gifteds, and him and Skye were two of the strongest. 

The wailing of the alarm grew louder as Grant made his way out into the hallway. He paused, hearing the screams and shouts of fellow agents over the ricochet of gunfire and the alarm. An agent started to run in his direction and Grant grabbed his arm as he came by.

The agent’s eyes widened as he saw who had grabbed him, but he decided to say nothing about it. His eyes scanned Grant’s body, seeing that his clothes were burned and tattered and that scorch marks littered his bare skin. 

“What the hell is going on here?!” Grant demanded, his voice morphing into a growl. 

“Ah, someone bombed us….” The agent’s eyes flicked to deeper down the hallway. “And countless men started storming in. We’ve been fighting for the past half-hour now.” He looked towards the collapsed gym, “Were you in there?”

“Yes.” Grant growled. He narrowed his eyes and the agent yelped as they started to glow red. “Have you seen my wife?”

“Your wife?”

“Yes, my wife. Where is she?”

“She’s the other gifted, right?” The agent shrunk back as Grant bared his fangs. “Ah, I think she’s deeper in the base. I saw her fighting.” He looked back over his shoulder, “That way.”

“Good, then she’s still alive.” Grant snapped, throwing the agent to the ground and stepping in the direction that he had indicated to him. “I haven’t lost her yet.”

“I’d recommend gearing up first.” the agent whimpered, pulling himself to his feet, frowning as he watched Grant’s tail start to bristle. “The attackers are heavily armed.”

“You seem to forget that I’m a weapon myself.” Grant clenched his fists, feeling his nails sharpen into claws. “I’ll tear every last one of them apart.  No one fucks with SHIELD on my watch.”

The agent yelped again as Grant turned around to face him, revealing an entirely different sight. Grant’s already-pointed ears had grown a few inches longer, jutting out from the sides of his head. His red eyes had darkened into a deep, blood-red hue and his fingernails had sharpened into claws. The agent backed away with his hands raised, too afraid to say anything. He had always been afraid of the half-demon, now he was flat-out terrified. 

Grant snarled to reveal a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs, “Just don’t stand there.” he hissed. “Do your fucking job. And I  _ am  _ your superior if I remember correctly. What level are you?”

“L-Level two.”

“And I’m level three, so I can command you around.” Grant chided, pointing a claw at him. “So get going.”

He turned around and left the cowering agent, stalking down the hallway towards the ongoing firefight. He wasn’t going to let anything stand between him and Skye. He would tear anyone down and he truly didn’t care to who he killed, as long as they were the enemy. 

The sounds of gunfire grew louder as Grant made his way down the corridor, hellfire building up underneath the skin of his palms. He didn’t know to why these people were attacking, he just knew that he needed to exterminate the problem. There was a feeling deep down inside of him underneath all of the currently-festering hate that knew this was his moment to shine. That he could prove himself to be a hero today. If he saved the base and drove off the attackers, then he could be hailed the hero he always wanted to become. As long as the monster didn’t catch up to him first.

He came to one of the bigger clearings in the base, stopping as he saw the chaotic scene unfolding out in front of him. SHIELD agents were currently locked in battle with some mysterious black-clad soldiers. Grant didn’t recognize who they were. He assumed that they were just an enemy of SHIELD and had decided to attack a small base for no reason. 

Bullets crisscrossed the air and some bodies laid dead on the floor. The stench of fire filled the air and Grant could also smell hatred and fear brewing in the air as well. Grant’s lips curled over his fangs as he stepped out into the clearing, flames beginning to spew off of him. 

Both sides stopped and turned to face the new adversary. The attackers all froze in fear at the sight of the half-demon. It was clear that they had no idea that such a being existed within SHIELD. Grant sighed slightly with relief, at least that was a sign that they weren’t after him. Perhaps they were only here to terrorize SHIELD, but he would still stop them before his fellow agents got hurt.

He saw both fear and relief in the SHIELD agents’ eyes. The fear was expected, but there was a part of him that was glad that they were relieved to see him. At least they knew that he could deal with the problem. He nodded slightly towards them and turned to face their attackers, “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, his voice distorted and heavy. He snarled at them to reveal his mouth full of fangs, “Guess you weren’t told about me.”

The attackers weren’t quite sure of just what to do. Truly, they had no idea that SHIELD harbored such a creature. Their orders had been to take out a SHIELD base and steal their technology. They weren’t prepared to fight a supernatural being.

Grant laughed, which was more of a deep rumbling sound within his chest more than anything else, “I’ll give you a chance to run and I’ll spare your lives. Keep fighting and I’ll have no choice but to slaughter the lot of you.” His tail flicked behind him and more flames blazed to life on his skin, “I may hate the majority of the people in this base, but that doesn’t mean that I want them to die. I’ll still protect them with my life, because that’s what I am supposed to do. I became a SHIELD agent so I could protect and so I could be a hero. I’m not about to allow you to take anymore lives. Get the hell out of here or I’ll show you no mercy. Just because I want to be a hero doesn’t mean I have to show mercy to my enemies. I’m still a demon afterall.”

One soldier stepped forward, “We have orders and we’re not about to abandon them just because some freak tells us to do so.” he spat. He raised his free hand, “You’re just one man. You can’t possibly take us all on. You may be some kind of monster, but that doesn’t mean that you’re invincible.”

With a snarl, Grant launched himself forward with inhuman speed, appearing as a blur across the battlefield as he suddenly appeared right in front of the soldier and grabbed him by the neck. “Do not underestimate me.” he hissed. “You really do not want to do that. I could rip you all apart in under a minute. And do not call me a freak.”

The soldier smiled, struggling against Grant’s vice-like grip, “Well, that’s what you are.” he teased. “No normal person has teeth or ears like that.” He looked to Grant’s tail, which had a massive flame burning off of its tip, “Or a tail. You’re a freak through and through.”

A muscle twitched in Grant’s face and he hurled the soldier into the wall several feet away. A loud and sickening crack was heard as the soldier’s body was embedded into the brick. Grant cracked his neck and turned around to face the other soldiers, which were about fifteen in number, “One more word and you all will end up just like him.” He took a step back and smiled, “Go ahead, try to kill me.”

Grant honestly believed that he really couldn’t do this all alone. Bullets would still stop him, a grenade would still stop him. He’d have to act fast to take all of the soldiers out before he himself ended up getting hurt. He was just trying to put on a show to try and scare the soldiers off so he really didn’t have to do anything. Grant wasn’t stupid enough to try to take on a small army all on his own. 

“I don’t want to kill all of you, but I’ll do it if I have to.” he continued, hoping that he was giving the SHIELD agents behind him enough time to recuperate and refocus so they could take the soldiers on. 

_ “Could I possibly rely on the monster for this?”  _ he thought.  _ “I just need to get to Skye, but there’s no way that I could get through this base unscathed to get to her. I’m vulnerable like this. But the monster’s skin would protect me. But how would I get it to come out so I could control it? I  can’t let it go rampant here. It would see the agents as the enemy as well. I don’t want to kill innocent SHIELD agents.” _

Grant stepped towards the soldiers, “Run, now. Or I will kill you. I-”

He was cut off as a sound of a bullet being fired echoed in the corridor and a white-hot pain lanced through his shoulder. Grant doubled over in pain and brought his hand to his shoulder, pulling it away to reveal blood staining his skin. He snarled at the soldiers and flung himself at them. He dug his claws into one and sent a blast of flame into him, setting the soldier aflame. Grant tossed the man aside and rose to his feet, an ominous growl resounding deep within his chest. 

He went to launch himself at another, but four of the soldiers flung themselves on him and knocked him to the ground. They rose above him and all pointed guns at him, fear starting to inch its way into Grant. One soldier leaned down and dug his gun into Grant’s temple.

“You say that we can’t kill you, but I say that we can.” he sneered, tightening his grip on the gun. “Where’s your strength now, monster? We-”

Grant screamed out as flames erupted from his body, knocking the four soldiers away. He jumped to his feet as the remaining men all surrounded him.  _ “I can’t possibly do this! There’s too many of them. I need the monster! I need it!”  _ Grant closed his eyes and tried to concentrate,  _ “Come out!”  _ he mentally pleaded.  _ “I don’t know where you are, but I’m gonna die here! A lot of people are going to die if you don’t help me out! Please, I’m begging you!” _

He snarled and his fist blazed with white-hot flames as the soldiers started to close in on him. He heard gunfire start to erupt from the SHIELD agents’ guns and a few soldiers few to the ground, but Grant looked up to see more soldiers spilling into the room. Someone had called for backup. There was no way that they could take all of the soldiers out. They would die, unless Grant managed to get the upperhand.

_ “I’m not running from you! I need your power! I just want to save my people and get to Skye! I still don’t know if you’re something totally separate from me or not, but I still need you!”  _ His eyes widened as numerous soldiers started to close on him,  _ “I can’t…. I can’t….”  _ The flames burning off of him snuffed out and he tried to find a way out, but he couldn’t.  _ “Please, I can’t do this. COME OUT YOU FUCKING MONSTER!” _

He suddenly fell to the ground in pain as it felt as though something was ripping through his chest. He looked down to his now-shaking hands and froze as he saw the rock slowly crawling its way up his fingertips. The soldiers stopped and stepped back as Grant screamed out in pain, his back arching as his spine shifted underneath his skin. 

They watched as a black, rock-like material started to replace the half-demon’s skin as Grant’s muscles shifted and ripped as they began to grow. What seemed to be horns ripped from his skin and began to grow from the top of his forehead as the rock-like skin began to crack apart. The cracks shone with a hellish light as the smell of sulfur permeated the air.

Grant struggled to fight for control, feeling a dark presence start to drag him down.  _ “Please, just let me have control this one time.” _ he pleaded.  _ “I don’t want to be a destroyer, I want… I want to be the hero. Please.”  _ But he began to feel himself slip away.

The soldiers all began to back away as the hellish creature replaced Grant. A deep growl rumbled from its chest as it stood to its feet and looked at them with blood-red eyes. It towered over them and clearly outweighed them by a few hundred pounds. Whatever it was, it would surely destroy them all.

“Get away… From me…” it huffed, its voice low and animal-like. “In my way… Wanna find Skye.” It began to stalk towards one of the soldiers and took him by his throat. It snarled at him and ripped his head from his body, throwing the decapitated body and the severed head aside. “You’re not Skye.”

The soldiers, and even the SHIELD agents, all froze in fear at the sight of the lumbering behemoth. It blinked at them and swatted three of them away, sending them flying across the room. 

“I need to find her…. I can’t lose her.”

Grant had unleashed the monster, but at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Grant's managed to turn into the monster and he seems to have control, but for how long? Will he manage to control the beast long enough to drive the assailants away and find Skye? Or will he fall to the monster's instincts and cause a massacre in the end? Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	48. Seems the Monster Always Wins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant tracks down Skye and vows to be the hero.

“Must… Find her…”

Terrified agents fled down the hallway as a lumbering beast stalked down the corridor, the earth rumbling beneath its clawed, rock-skinned feet. The beast’s blood-red eyes scanned its surroundings as it made its way deeper into the base. It stopped momentarily, cocking its head in confusion as it watched the fleeing agents.

Why were they afraid? The beast meant no harm to them. All it wanted to do was find the one thing that mattered to it. It couldn’t help that it was a monster, it didn’t want things to be this way. But this was how it was born, a monster hiding underneath a man’s skin. It didn’t want to hurt, but couldn’t help its rage. It couldn’t help that people teased and fear the man that was its host. It tried to protect the man by hurting those that harmed him, but that had only made things worse for the man.

The last it remembered was that the people that the man trusted had turned against him and had threatened to either kill him or lock him away if he proved to be a threat. The beast hadn’t meant for harm to come to the man, it just had wanted to protect him. But it had failed to realize that its actions only meant ruin for the man. 

And it had also failed to realize that it and the man were the same being. The beast was just a physical manifestation of the man’s rage and hatred that had accumulated over the years. It truly wasn’t a separate entity from the man, even though it had seemed that way. Wrath had twisted emotions and the man’s personality, giving rise to the beast inside of him. The volatile mix of the man’s demonic nature and his hellish rage had created the monster in the very end. 

Ultimately, the beast was Grant Ward’s true form.

There never had been another being living inside of Grant, it just had been his true nature trying to crawl its way out of him. And he had tapped into it in a last attempt to save himself and those around him. All he had wanted to do was find his wife in the currently-unfolding chaos. He just wanted to find Skye and pull her away from this mess. He just hoped that she wouldn’t run from him now that he was this beast.

And could he even return back to normal? Or was he just stuck as this lumbering brute for the rest of his life? Grant couldn’t stand that thought. 

He blinked and continued his way down the hallway, trying to focus his senses to try and find Skye. For some reason, his thoughts and thinking processes were muddled in this form. If anything, he was truly just a monster now, unable to do anything but destroy everything around him. 

“Skye.” he huffed, thundering his way into a clearing. He stopped and swatted at a soldier that had run towards him to try and take him out. The soldier went flying and crashed into the wall behind him. “You’re not her.”

He tilted his head back and sniffed the air, catching the faint wisps of her scent mixed along with smoke and gunpowder. He lumbered on, he was getting closer to her. The roar of gunfire started to grow in his ears as he came closer to another clearing. It seemed as though he had stumbled upon another firefight.

Grant paused as the ground rumbled beneath him and he immediately knew that it wasn’t him. And it wasn’t a bomb either, it felt different than an explosion. The ground rumbled again and he could sense a strange vibration in the air. 

“Skye.”

He lurched forward with a newfound urgency and stormed into the clearing, stopping just inside. The sound of gunfire dissipated as the two sides stopped to see what had appeared in the clearing. Everyone’s eyes widened in fear and a few of the fighters dropped their guns as they saw the blackened behemoth that stood before them.

Grant’s eyes surveyed the small crowd until they rested upon a female agent with a long, brown ponytail that was looking at him with terror in her eyes. But also recognition resided in them as well. He cocked his head and stepped forward towards her, causing some of the fighters in the room to scamper backwards. 

“Skye.”

Skye’s mouth grew dry as she watched the monster make its way towards her. The very same monster that had performed a slaughter in that science base a little over two weeks ago. The very same monster that her husband had turned into. 

She stood her ground as the monster came closer and she realized that something was off. There was no hostility in its eyes, only concern. This wasn’t the same monster that had ripped apart those four SHIELD strike team members. It ignored everyone else in the room as it came towards her, stopping just a couple of feet in front of her.

It towered over her and it kneeled down so it could look her in the eyes, “Skye.” it breathed, its voice husky and animal-like. “You… Alright?”

Skye blinked, wrinkling her nose as the stench of sulfur that wafted from the creature. But her fear subsided with the beast’s one question and she fully realized just what was going on. 

“Grant?” she asked quietly. “It is you, isn’t it?”

Grant nodded, his eyes flickering to the soldiers that were now starting to surround them. He now noticed the injured SHIELD agents in the room, it was obvious that they were losing. He looked back to Skye, a yearning light in his eyes. His thoughts were starting to come through clearer and clearer as his control over the monster and his rage began to even out.

“It’s me.” he answered, reaching out towards her. “No monster.”

Skye smiled lightly as her hand and Grant’s met. She ignored how the rock-like skin grated against her palm. “Good. And I’m fine. They attacked just as I got to the communications room. But I was worried about you. I couldn’t get to you. Why did you change?”

“Too many soldiers. Needed a form of protection.” Grant rumbled, rising to his full height. “Thought it would help.”

“Well, I hope it will.” Skye answered, backing behind him as the soldiers grew closer. “Because these guys are too strong. They just keep coming and I don’t know what they want.” She looked up at Grant as she took on a battle stance, “They want us, don’t they?”

Grant shrugged as flames seeped from the cracks in his skin, “No, I don’t think they do. Didn’t expect me. He snarled, trying to get the soldiers to back off. “But they want something, but I won’t let them get it. They already fucked up once.” He stepped towards the soldiers, the ground shuddering slightly beneath his weight. “I may not like the people of this base, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let anyone else hurt them.”

Skye watched with curiosity as the brutish form of her husband took another step towards their assailants, obviously prepared to tear them down. And, honestly, they needed the brute force and the short break. The soldiers had beaten them down and had cut down their ranks. Many SHIELD agents laid broken and bloodied on the floor. Luckily, not many had died yet. Maybe they could win this now that Grant was in the fight and that he was showing his full potential.

“Where’s Coulson?” Grant suddenly asked, his deep voice rumbling throughout the corridor. 

She blinked. Honestly, she didn’t know to where the man was at. “I… I don’t know. I guess that he was in his office, but I haven’t seen him all day. I-” Skye stopped as a deep, rumbling growl resounded from Grant and he began to stalk towards the soldiers. 

Grant probably thought that his adoptive father was lying either hurt or dead somewhere because of these soldiers. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing either Skye or Coulson, mainly because they were all he had. The air around him started to shimmer as his body heat increased rapidly, even more flames sparking from the cracks crisscrossing his skin. 

“I’ll kill them all.” he growled. “I’ll tear every last one of them down until I know he’s okay.”

“Grant,” Skye warned, taking a step back as the air around them started to heat up. “You don’t have to turn this into a slaughter.”

“They died when they set foot in this building. No one messes with SHIELD. No one messes with you or Coulson. And no one fucks with me and lives to tell about it.” Grant hissed, his voice becoming even more distorted. He flexed his clawed hands and bared his fangs and the soldiers as they stood their ground, “If they have to die so everyone else lives, then so be it. And I’ll be the goddamn hero at the end of the day.”

Skye held her breath. Grant’s insane idea with becoming the hero had even melded into this state of mind that he was in. Yes, he could save them all like this, but at what cost? If he slaughtered the soldiers, there was a possibility that the higher-ups would still only see the monster because of the blood that he spilt. Either Grant would be hailed as a hero or he would be executed as the monster that everyone believed him to be. There was no inbetween. 

“Grant,”

“Watch, Skye, I’ll save every last one of you. I don’t care if I’m the monster, as long as everyone lives.” Grant stated, taking another step towards the soldiers, whom of which had their guns aimed right at him. “Can’t there be at least one good monster in this God-forsaken world?”

He looked at her with another longing look, “Go find Coulson. I’ll with these bastards.” He looked to the SHIELD agents, “All of you, get out of here! I’ve got this! Take the wounded and seek shelter!” He now looked towards the soldiers and snarled, “You’re gonna fucking regret ever coming here.”

He lunged himself at them, the sound of gunfire filling the air again. Skye turned away so she didn’t have to watch her husband rip apart the enemy. She gulped, “Go, you heard him. Take the wounded and get out of here. I’ll go find Agent Coulson.”

She took one last look at Grant before heading towards where Coulson’s office was. She really hoped that Grant could do this and that she wouldn’t see him being put into a bodybag when this was all said and done. Once Grant got an idea in his head, there was no turning him away from it. 

And who’s to say that a monster can’t be the hero anyways?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're really getting down to the nitty gritty with this chapter. There isn't a whole lot left after this, unfortunately. Maybe five chapters at the most. But I'm promising a happy ending, though. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	49. I Need a Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finds Coulson and then more...

Skye held her breath as she slowly made her way to Coulson’s office. Apparently, the man had last been seen there before the assailants had attacked, so hopefully he was still in there and he was perfectly okay. She had to avoid areas of battle where SHIELD agents and the unknown attackers were fighting with one another. Just how many men were there?

It ended up taking her about ten minutes to get to Coulson’s office. She reached the door and slowly reached for the knob, bracing herself for whatever she would end up finding in there. Slowly opening the door, she froze as she heard shuffling from within the office. It sounded as though Coulson was still inside, so hopefully he wasn’t hurt or anything. 

“Coulson?” she whispered through the crack of the door, not wanting to barge in and startle him. She swallowed as the shuffling suddenly stopped

“ _ Skye _ ?” 

At the sound of Coulson’s voice, Skye quickly slipped inside the office and quietly shut the door behind her. She turned around to see Coulson rising from behind his desk, a gun clenched in his hand and a look of relief on his face. 

“Oh, thank God, you’re alright.” Coulson stated quietly, moving from behind the desk. “I was getting really worried. Everything’s in chaos.”

“Were you hiding under your desk?” Skye asked nodding towards him. 

Coulson shrugged, “I’m not a fighter, Skye. I have basic combat training in order to be cleared for field work, but I’m not trained to fight an entire invading army.” he explained. “So it’s best for me to lay low.” He swallowed and studied Skye’s battle-scarred appearance and noticed the absence of Grant, “Wait, where’s Grant?” he asked lowly. 

Skye pointed behind her, “He’s out there fighting the attackers.” she answered. “He told me to come find you.”

“Wait, you left him all alone?” Coulson placed his gun down on his desk. “He’s not supposed to be alone until the higher-ups clear him. And he’s not cleared for combat!” His face darkened, “Do you realize what could happen if he loses it and that monster comes out? More than the assailants will die.”

“I, uh…” Skye gulped, unsure of how to answer Coulson. “He’s…”

“He’s  _ what _ ?” 

“The monster already came out.”

Coulson’s face dropped, “What?!” he exclaimed angrily. “Do you realize what this means for him?! It doesn’t matter if he kills SHIELD agents or not! If the higher-ups see that he transformed back into the monster and that he did cause some kind of slaughter, no matter who he kills, they’ll take that as a reason to lock him up.”

“No, wait!” Skye cut in, waving her hands. “I can assure you that he’s in control! Yes, he may be the monster right now, but he’s controlling it!”

“Wait,” Coulson’s face paled as he registered what Skye was trying to address to him. Grant was actually  _ controlling _ the monster? He had actually managed to do such a thing? “How do you know?” he asked. “How can you be so sure that it’s him?”

“Because he talked to me. I was helping a few other agents deal with some attackers when he came lumbering into the room.” she began to explain. “Of course I thought it was just the monster, but he came directly for me and showed no anger at all. It’s him, Coulson. He told me to come find you and that he would deal with the enemy.” She paused slightly. “He said that he would come out as the hero after all of this is all said and done.”

Coulson frowned and picked back up his gun, “He’s still in that hero dream, isn’t he?” he sighed, beginning to walk towards the door. “I’m afraid that that’ll end up being the end of him one day. He’s got to stop throwing himself into dangerous situations all because he thinks that he can be the hero…” He sighed and stopped right at the door, turning around to look at his rookie. 

Skye blinked and frowned, “Wait, what are you doing?” she asked as he reached to open the door.

“Going to find him. He needs to be stopped before he loses control of himself. I trust him, Skye, I really do. But I don’t trust that monster one bit. There’s probably only a thin line separating him from that monster at this point, so it won’t take much to send him into a rage.”

“He’s already angry.” Skye stated as Coulson opened the door. “He got upset when I told him that I had no idea to where you were at.” She followed Coulson out into the eerily-empty hallway. 

Coulson stopped and looked at Skye with a worried expression, “He thinks I’m either hurt or dead, doesn’t he?”

“I… I don’t know. But you might want to show your face to him as a just in case. He was relieved when he saw that I was okay, but I’m not sure what he believes about you right now.”

“Then we better hurry up.” Coulson stated coldly, adopting a fast pace down the hallway. “I don’t want to get there too late. Hopefully, he’s still in control and we can get him calmed down and back to normal before things get too out of hand.”

Skye nodded, even though Coulson couldn’t see her do so. She followed him back down the twisting hallways, telling him to where Grant had been last. Hopefully, Grant was still there and nothing had happened to him. She just really hoped that things would be okay. She just wanted Grant to be okay. 

They made their way to the clearing, but stopped right outside of it. Skye frowned as she got a strange vibe from the surrounding areas. She turned to face Coulson.

“Something’s off. There’s not as many men in the base as there was.” she stated, afraid to look in the room. “Either they’re dead or they’re retreating.”

“You better hope that they’re retreating.” Coulson commenting, frowning as he heard a low growl rumble in the clearing. “Because it’ll be a shit show if Grant killed them all. And I wouldn’t put it past him to do it.” He tightened his grip on his gun and slowly approached the entrance to the clearing.  _ “Please let him still be himself. I don’t know what to do if he’s lost it again. This may truly be the last chance for him. If the higher-ups see that he’s slaughtered numerous assailants, then they’ll want to imprison him. That can’t happen.” _

Coulson gave a quick nod to Skye before the both of them slipped into the room, freezing as they got just inside of it. They gulped at the scene before them. Several bodies laid strewn across the floor, both SHIELD and enemy alike. Some dead, some hurt. It was obvious that Grant didn’t cause some of the damage, but it was clear that he killed or hurt most of the enemies. The SHIELD agents were those that had stayed behind to try and clear off the enemy.

Their eyes trailed to the massive form of Grant, whom of which stood motionless in the middle of the clearing. No flames burned off of him, yet the air smelled heavily of sulfur. He straightened up and growled as he sensed new beings in the room with him. He slowly turned around and glared at the, hatred seeping from his eyes as he bared his fangs at them. Another growl rumbled in his chest. 

“I thought that you said he was in control?” Coulson asked in a whisper. “It looks like he’s lost it.”

Skye began to grow ill and she shook her head, “No, he was in control. I promise.” She looked around at the bodies, “This… This isn’t him. He’s gone again. I-”

Coulson suddenly stepped forward to Skye’s surprise and feigned a smile towards Grant, “Hey, Grant.” he called out, tossing his gun to the ground. “Look, everything’s okay. There’s no more bad guys. Both me and Skye are perfectly fine. We’re not even hurt. 

I know that you were worried about me, but I’m okay.” He approached the unmoving Grant even closer. “You did a good job.” He paused and suddenly activated his comms, “This is Agent Coulson, I need a status report of the situation.” He needed to tell Grant something good soon.

_ “Coulson? Is both Wards with you? We have a report of the monster.” _

He looked to Grant, whom of which was just staring at him, “Yes, the monster is right in front of me, but I have all reason to believe that Agent Ward is himself, just confused. I’ll dealing with him myself. But I need a status report.”

_ “Ah, the assailants have begun to retreat, we’re assuming that Agent Ward scared them off. If you can deal with him now, we’ll send out cleanup crews to assess the damage. A lot of the agents are already reporting in, so the carnage wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.” _

Coulson smiled lightly, “Thank you.” he stated, quickly deactivating his comms. He looked back to Grant, “The men are gone now. You scared them off, Grant. The battle’s already over and we won. You made that possible.”

Grant blinked at him and cocked his head, trying to understand what Coulson was saying. The rage from his earlier battle had muddled his mind and had made it hard for him to think. He finally had processed that it was Skye and Coulson in the room and not someone else. 

Coulson stepped forward again, “You wanted to be the hero and I think you finally were.” he continued. “Everything’s okay, son. You can come back.”

“Hero?” Grant croaked, his eyes drifting to Skye. “I did it?”

“Yes, you did.” Coulson reaffirmed, giving him a small smile. “You did a good job.”

Grant just stared at them, unsure of what to do. He went to walk towards Coulson, but his knees suddenly buckled as his rock-like skin started to crack apart. He was returning to normal.

Coulson stepped back and stood beside Skye, watching as Grant’s form shrunk and the rock receded into his skin. Grant collapsed to the ground, his torn and tattered pants hanging off of him. Both Skye and Coulson rushed over to him and helped him to his knees. 

His eyes weakly trailed over to Coulson, “Dad?” he asked softly before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell against Coulson’s chest.

The older man smiled at the fact that the half-demon had finally called him ‘dad’. He carefully lowered Grant to the ground and looked over to Skye, “Skye, go find someone to help us get him back to your bunk.” he said quietly. “Looks like we averted a disaster, but he needs rest and he’s too heavy for the two of us to carry.”

Skye nodded and leaned over to give Grant a kiss on his soot-covered forehead before she rose to her feet. “I’ll try to find someone.” she stated, turning around and running out of the room. 

Coulson looked back to Grant’s sleeping form, feeling a bit of pride for his son. Even though Grant had killed, he still ended up saving the day in an unorthodox way. A whole lot more agents could’ve been killed, but the damage was kept to a minimum. 

“Lets just hope that the higher-ups see you as a hero, Grant. I’m afraid that they’ll lock you up anyways”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Grant really did save the day! Like Coulson said, lets just hope that the higher-ups see him as a hero as well in the aftermath. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	50. The Number One Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson and Grant have a chat.

(Sometime Later)

Grant let out a moan as he peeled his eyes open, the soft, low light from above filtering in. He reached up and pressed a hand to his aching head as he struggled to sit up.  _ God _ , why did his head hurt so bad? And why was everything jumbled up in his head? He could hardly even remember what had happened. He just remembered the explosion and not much else. 

“Oh, thank God, you’re awake.”

Frowning, Grant turned his head to see Coulson sitting in a chair that had seemed to be brought into the room. “D-Coulson?” he asked, catching himself. “What’re you doing in here?” He looked around and noticed the absence of his wife, “Where’s Skye?”

Coulson smiled and leaned forward in the chair, his elbows on his knees, “She’s helping with the clean-up efforts.” he answered. “There’s quite a mess to recover from.”

“Clean-up?” the half-demon asked, a croak in his voice. “Whoever attacked is already gone?”

“Grant,” the older agent began, raising an eyebrow. It was clear to him that Grant didn’t remember much, if any, of what had happened. “You’ve been unconscious for about four hours now. What… What do you remember?”

Grant’s face scrunched-up as he tried to remember, but most of it came up blank to him. It was just like something was missing and he couldn’t get it back. He shook his head and looked Coulson straight in the eyes, “No, I don’t. What should I be remembering?” His face darkened and his stomach grew cold as something started to creep its way into his mind, “ _ It  _ didn’t come, did it?”

Coulson ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in the chair, “Well, in a way.” he admitted. “But not like how you think it did. I don’t see how you don’t remember though.”

“What?” Grant’s voice was cold and hard. “So it did come back, why am I not locked up or dead?”

“One, it’s because the higher-ups are dealing with the aftermath of the attack. Two... “ Coulson paused slightly and shook his head, “Grant, you were actually in control. I didn’t see any of it, but Skye and surveillance footage confirm just that. You were actually controlling that monster somehow.”

Grant’s face fell and Coulson could see the slightest hint of hope shining in the half-demon’s eyes. “I… Controlled it?” he asked, his eyes drifting down to the quilt that covered him. He bunched up a part of it in his hands, “I did it?”

Coulson gave him a slight smile, “As far as I know, you did.” he answered. “Apparently you tried to fight a group of attackers beforehand and you were overpowered by them. Surveillance footage shows you transforming into the monster and killing about two of the men before walking off. Then you appear in the clearing where we found you. About another eight men were killed. Many more injured. But no SHIELD agents were hurt by your hand.”

Grant looked away and didn’t respond. He still had gone ballistic and still slaughtered several men, even if they were the bad guys. He really feared what the higher-ups would think about him now. 

“Grant, I know what you’re thinking. Perhaps the higher-ups won’t see the monster in this case.” Coulson tried to reassure him. “You did way more good than harm today.”

“And how?” Grant asked, keeping his gaze away from his adoptive father. “I broke rules. I was fighting when I wasn’t supposed to be and I turned into the monster. I just proved that I’m a killer.” He tightened his grip on the quilt, “They’ll find some reason to execute me. Even if I didn’t kill any SHIELD agents, that could still happen the next time the monster comes out. Whether I’m in control or not. They’re just afraid that that could be them the next time around.”

Coulson took a breath and stood from his chair. “If anything, Grant, there are agents calling you a hero.” he stated, walking over to the dresser that stood in front of the bed. “They’re not calling you a monster.”

Grant’s heart skipped a few beats. “A h-hero?” he stammered. “What, wait,  _ how _ ?” His throat grew dry and he was trying to make sense of it all. He had actually been a hero despite being the monster at the same time?

A slight chuckle came from Coulson as he picked up a picture frame that rested on the top of the dresser. “You know, I knew that you would say something like that.” he commented, his eyes trailing the photo in his hand. 

It was a photograph from the day that Grant and Skye had gotten married. Grant was all smiles, minus the fangs, as he had an arm wrapped around his new bride. Coulson stood behind the two, smiling as he had a hand on both Grant and Skye’s shoulders. That really had been the last happy thing that Grant had experienced.

Coulson sighed and placed the photo back in its place, turning around to face Grant once more, “You always have a hard time believing in the good in yourself.” he stated, not waiting for Grant to say anything. “But you drove the enemy off. The agents that were monitoring the situation claim that you scared them off and they pulled out because of you. Things could’ve got a hell of a lot worse if they had stayed any longer. You actually ended up saving a lot of lives. 

This base houses about 154 agents. 21 of them died, as far as we know. About 50 or so were injured.” he continued. “So that’s about a little over 130 lives you ended up saving. There’s no telling to how many would’ve ended up being killed if you hadn’t fought.”

A smile began to grow on Grant’s face as he realized just what Coulson was saying to him. “I… I actually saved people?” He was in complete awe and disbelief. He looked down to his hands, “I thought I was only capable of killing, that’s why SHIELD wanted me to be a specialist. To kill.”

Coulson pointed at Grant, “Son, just because you’re demon doesn’t mean that you’re not capable of being a hero. You may be specialized in the art of the kill, but you kill to save. To take a few wicked lives to save many more of the good is what you do.” he explained lightly. “You haven’t taken a single innocent life yet. That has to mean something.”

Grant looked away, “Yeah, it’s just that…” he trailed off, not sure of what to say. He couldn’t comprehend that he had saved over a hundred people, even by being the monster. “There’s no way that I could be a hero.”

“Grant,” Coulson began, sitting down on the edge of the bed and looking Grant in the eyes. “Wasn’t it your dream to be a hero one day and prove your parents wrong? To prove that you're not some worthless monster?”

“Well, I....”

“I think this makes you a hero. I know that your methods were a little, well, unorthodox, but you still saved people.”

“But they were just SHIELD agents, I was doing my job.” Grant stated harshly. It was obvious that he was trying to avoid everything, he still believed himself to be a monster.

“Grant, your job is to  _ save  _ people, SHIELD agent or not.” Coulson argued. “Yes, protecting one or two people in a mission is your  _ job _ , but saving over 100 agents in a single day is being a  _ hero _ . There’s no inbetween here. And maybe the higher-ups will see just that. I see a few SHIELD honors in your future.”

Grant’s face lit up as he started to realize that he would more than likely have a future afterall. Maybe the higher-ups would actually see him as a hero and then they would put him back on active duty. And maybe they would give him some huge honor or something of the sort. Then no one could say anything bad about him then. 

“Maybe… Maybe you’re right.” he stated meekly, not sure of what to say. “Guess I did save a lot of lives, even though I don’t remember any of it.”

Coulson smiled, glad that he was finally starting to believe in himself. “It’ll probably come to you in time.” he stated, standing to his feet. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ve got some paperwork to fill out due to the transfers and such.”

“Transfers?”

“Oh, all of the agents in this base are being temporarily reassigned until this base can be repaired. I have to get the paperwork together to ensure that me, you, and Skye are all transferred to the same base. It’s not that hard, since you two are partners after all and I’m your SO. But I still have to do it. I’ll let you rest for a while, Skye should be back in here in an hour or so.”

“Okay.” Grant stated, giving Coulson a slight nod. 

Coulson went towards the door and stopped right as he got in front of it, “Oh, and Grant?”

Grant blinked, “Huh?”

“And it’s okay to call me dad.” he stated. “If that’s what you were going for there earlier. I  _ am  _ your adoptive father after all.” He smiled, “And I don’t mind it one bit. I’ve never had a chance to have a kid, but now I have you.”

The half-demon ducked his head and scratched at his ear, “I wasn’t… I didn’t call you that.”

“You did when you transformed back from the monster, right before you fell unconscious. Again, I don’t mind it at all. I’m technically your father anyways, like I said.” 

Grant smiled, “Yeah, you’re right.” He brought his tail close and looked away. “Thanks, Dad.”

Coulson’s smile grew and a felt a warm feeling beginning to grow in his chest. He reached for the doorknob, 

“It’s really no problem, son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And why can't canon Coulson be like this? But, anyways, Coulson finally convinces Grant that he was indeed the hero and that he saved the day. Good, right? Let's just hope that the higher-ups believe so. Keep the comments and kudos coming! (And I may or may not be planning a Framework! Skyeward fic.)


	51. Part That's Holding On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant gets a visitor.

(A Couple of Days Later)

Now, the higher-ups wasted no time at all with getting Grant moved to another base. They felt as though keeping him at the previous base any longer would be a liability in the end. Only because they were afraid that the assailants would come back for him and end up causing even more damage than they already had caused. 

Grant, Skye, and Coulson were all transferred to a base hidden in the Appalachians, right in the northern tip of Virginia. Everything was going pretty smoothly for them, despite Grant still being on restricted duty. The higher-ups still hadn’t released the restrictions on him just yet, they were still deciding on what to do with him. The last Coulson had heard was that their opinions of the half-demon had changed since the incident. Coulson had a feeling that Grant would get an honor or two in the near future. 

And Coulson really hoped that Grant would be honored for his actions. The half-demon had been stuck in a depressive rut ever since he had been taken off duty. Such an honor would greatly help to improve his mood. Grant just needed to believe that he was worthy of such praise. 

But there was a bit of pride starting to grow within Grant’s heart. Ever since the incident, there were agents that had begun to call him a hero. Grant soak up that praise like a sponge. He wasn’t used to ever being praised, so it was something he absolutely  _ loved _ . He didn’t think that a being such as him could ever get such a thing.

Grant really just hoped that everything would work to his favor in the end. 

“Skye?”

“Hmm?”

Grant turned and nestled Skye closer to his chest, drawing light circles on the bare skin of her back with the tip of his finger, “I think we need to get up, sweetheart.” he mumbled. “I need to do some workouts and we don’t need Coulson barging in here.”

Skye mumbled under her breath and nuzzled her head deeper into her husband’s chest, “Do we really have to?” She smiled as she felt the soft tip of his tail brush against her spine, “Can’t we just stay in here for like another hour? Maybe have another go?”

A light blush grew on Grant’s freckled cheeks. “As much as I like that, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until later.” He brushed his lips against her cheek, “I may not have work to do right now, but you do. It’s not best to ignore that.”

“I hate it when you’re right.” Skye groaned, pulling away from Grant and sitting up. She drew the sheets to up around her chest, “I’m still sore from that battle, even though that was a few days ago. I’d just like to rest for once.”

Grant chuckled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek after sitting up as well, “Skye, we work for SHIELD. There’s never a moment to rest.” He swing his feet over the side of the bed and bent down to pick up his underwear. 

“Do you think that in a few years we could possibly consider settling down somewhere?” she asked. “If SHIELD will allow such a thing.”

“Well,” Grant began, slipping on his underwear. “I’m not opposed to the idea. It’d be nice to live a normal life for once. But I don’t know if SHIELD will ever let me out into the real world. And it’d be such an issue with me trying to blend in somewhere. I can hide my tail, but not my ears or my teeth. But it wouldn’t hurt to try one day. We can’t work for SHIELD forever.”

“I still want to possibly have a kid one day, if that’s possible with us.” Skye stated, slipping out of the bed. She smiled slightly as she noticed Grant’s eyes trailing her naked body. “I just want to try to be as close to normal as possible.”

Grant stood and nodded, following Skye into the bathroom, “I hope that’s possible. I also want a dog. We could have a small house somewhere Maybe a dog or two, a kid. But we’ve got a while to think about that. I mean, I’m only 22 and you’re only 21. We’re young. We still have time.”

Skye stopped outside of the shower and turned to face him, “You’re right. We have time. There’s just too much to worry about right now to even think about having a baby.”

“Like the fact that the higher-ups are still deciding on whether to kill me or not?”

“Let’s try to forget that that’s a thing.” Skye reached up and kissed his bearded chin. “That’s why we need to focus on the now, to ensure that’ll you’ll be alright. Let’s just get through today first.”

The two took their time taking a shower together. They made quick work of getting everything dried off and then getting dressed before heading out together. Grant decided on waiting until later to exercise, only because he wanted to check with Coulson on a few things first.

They went together to Coulson’s office; Skye wanted to go with Grant because she didn’t want to leave him alone right now. She still had a thing about keeping him in her sights when she wasn’t busy. 

Grant knocked on the door before heading in, Skye trailing behind him. Coulson stood from his desk and greeted them with a nod.

“Oh, good, I was about to come get you two.”

Grant raised an eyebrow, taking a seat in front of the desk, “Really? Why is that?” he asked, casting a glance towards Skye, whom of which was seated as well now. “Is something the matter?”

Coulson took a breath and nodded, “The higher-ups have decided with what they’re going to do with you.” he answered. “They just called to tell me to get you and bring you to the conference room.”

Grant’s face fell and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He could faintly tell that Skye had reached over and had grabbed his hand. “They have?” he said, his voice coming out as a mere squeak. “D-Did they tell you anything?”

The older agent sadly shook his head, “Unfortunately, they didn’t. All they told me was that they had come to a decision and that they wanted me to come get you. So I have no idea to what they have decided on. I really hope that they took the other day’s events into account.” He stood to his feet and walked to the side of his desk, “But I do have a good feeling that you’ll be okay.”

“I-I hope so.” Grant stammered, rising to his feet and immediately clinging to Skye’s side. 

Skye sensed Grant’s growing fear and gave his hand a light squeeze, “You’ll be okay, sweetheart.” she whispered, rubbing a gentle thumb over his knuckles. “They won’t do anything too harsh. You’ll be fine.”

Grant didn’t respond as Coulson led them out of the room and down the hallway. Honestly, he was scared senseless now. His life was on the line here. Either the higher-ups had deemed him a threat and would have him executed or locked-up, or they would see that he was still a worthy agent and would return him to active duty. And he had no other way to prove to him that he wasn’t a monster, so this was truly the final decision. 

Coulson led them through the base until he stopped right outside of the conference room door. He turned to Grant, “Grant, son, I want you to promise me one thing.” 

“Huh?”

“I want you to promise that no matter what the outcome of this meeting is, that you’ll keep yourself together. I know that you have a hard time doing so when you’re upset, but there’s no need to cause a scene in front of the higher-ups.”

Grant nodded numbly, “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Coulson turned back to the door and opened it, stepping inside of the room. But he froze as soon as he stepped inside. “ _ Sir? _ ” 

“Coulson, what’s going on?” Skye asked, seeing that Coulson had stopped. “Is there something wrong?”

“Dad,” Grant began, stepping forward and placing a hand on Coulson’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” His eyes trailed to inside of the room and he froze as he saw a man walking towards them. A man with an eyepatch.

“So there’s the agent that everyone’s been talking about. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

“ _ Director Fury? _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I know that it's short, but my knee and hip are really acting up so this was all that I was able to write. But Fury's come to see Grant! Wonder what that's all about? (I assume that Fury was Director in about 2005.) Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	52. A Golden Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fury has some surprising news for Grant.

“W-What are you doing here, sir?”

Grant brought his tail close to his body as Fury ushered them in. Why would SHIELD’s director be here to see him? Fury was hardly ever even seen by anyone other than the Deputy Director, so it was usually bad news when he did decide to show up for one reason or another.

Fury nodded towards the half-demon as they sat down at the conference table, the Director being flanked by two other higher-ups, “What?” he asked. “I can’t come see one of my star agents?”

Licking his now-dry lips, Grant casted an uneasy glance towards Skye before looking back to Fury, “Now I know that I’m fucked if the Director himself decides to come see me.” he stated with a dark laugh. “I know that you don’t see just anyone.”

An amused smirk pulled at the Director’s lips, “Why does my presence have to mean anything bad?” he asked, placing a hand on the table. “I know that I rarely show my face, but that doesn’t make me some kind of omen. I can’t come congratulate one of my men?”

“C-Congratulate?” Grant stammered, picking nervously at the material of his jeans. “I don’t understand. I thought that I was getting punished.”

Fury raised an eyebrow, “Now, Agent Ward, why would you be punished for pretty much single-handedly saving one of my bases. As far as I know, you weren’t responsible for the destruction that happened that day. You didn’t even touch any of my agents. Anyone you killed happened to be the opposing soldiers. You did nothing against SHIELD during the attack. All reports showed that you drove them off and prevented them from causing any more damage.

Only 21 agents died in the attack. Two of them died from their injuries. But that’s only 23 out of 154 agents that died.” he continued. “So 131 agents were saved because of your actions. There’s no telling to what could’ve happened if the soldiers were allowed to continue what they were there for. It was obvious that they intended to cause a slaughter of SHIELD agents and get away with our tech. But they didn’t cause the slaughter that they wanted and barely got away with anything at all.” He pointed at Grant, “That seems like a save to me.”

“But… But I thought that the higher-ups thought that I was a threat. That I needed to be either locked-up or executed for the monster.” Grant tried to explain, playing with the end of his tail. “I,”

Fury held up a hand to silence the young agent, “I believe that the other day’s events more than prove that you are not a threat. Yet, while it is true that you still need to work on that anger of yours, there is no reason to believe that you are a threat at all. Just because you’re different and you have a special gift doesn’t make you a threat to humanity. I would be worried if you have taken more innocent lives by now, but you haven’t.”

“But those four strike team agents.” Even though Grant had believed at first that he wasn’t at fault for their deaths, he recently had begun to acknowledge that it had been his hands that had killed them and he believed that he was guilty for them. He didn’t want to die or be imprisoned, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t feel guilty for what happened. There was a part of him that believed that he needed to be reprimanded for the deaths.

“Yes, we have taken those deaths into account. But it’s already been proven that you weren’t in control and that was the first time that you had ever mutated into that form.” Fury explained even more, trying to address the point to Grant. “So it’s understandable that you went into a blind rage. You cannot be blamed for your actions from that day.”

“Fury, sir, four deaths cannot be brushed off like that. They were still innocent lives. They weren’t targets assigned to me by the higher-ups. They weren’t enemies in battle. They were just SHIELD agents doing their jobs. And I killed them.” Grant was still insistent that he was guilty for the four murders. Just because he was an assassin didn’t mean that he had a heart for the innocent. “Their blood is on my hands.”

Fury nodded slowly, “I realize that you do feel guilty for what happened, Agent Ward. But I have done my own research on the incident and everything points to the fact that you weren’t in control.” He paused for a moment, “Do you even remember what happened?”

Grant’s face fell and he shook his head, “No, sir, I don’t. It’s… It’s all one, big blank. I remember getting shot and the next thing I know, I’m in the room that I share with my wife.” He explained slowly. “I don’t remember.”

“Exactly.” Fury stated firmly. “That shows that you weren’t in control at the moment, that it wasn’t you. It’s completely understandable that you feel guilty for what happened, but I truly believe that you couldn’t help what happened. You are fully not at fault.”

Coulson blinked, “Sir, where are you going with this?” he asked, looking over to Grant. The half-demon had himself leaned up against Skye, a visible glaze coating his eyes. There was a faint tremor to his body. It was clear that if Fury didn’t get to the point soon, Grant would slip into a panic attack because of the fear that was currently dragging him down. “Is there a point to all of this?”

Fury nodded, “There is. I imagine that I’m rambling a little bit and probably need to get to the point here.” He cleared his throat, “So in short, we are not seeking any punishment against Agent Ward. All charges have been dropped as of this morning. And he is clear to return to active duty when he is ready.”

Grant sat up and looked at the Director with a blank look on his face, “I’m… I’m not being locked up or killed?” he asked. “I don’t have to worry about that anymore?”

“Unless you kill an innocent under your own free will or the ‘monster’ truly becomes a serious problem, then no.” Fury answered for him, giving him the smallest of smiles. “You’re free to return to your duties as an agent.”

Grant’s face slowly turned into a bright smile and he looked over to both Skye and Coulson, waiting for them to say something. Truly, he was utterly speechless. He really didn’t expect to walk away from all of this. And he really didn’t expect the Director himself to be congratulating him at all.

Skye smiled back at him and leaned over to give him a kiss, “Do you hear that, sweetheart. You’re going to be okay. You can finally get back to work again.”

Coulson frowned and looked towards Fury, “No offense, sir. If this was just to clear Grant of his charges, then why not just have the other higher-ups do it?” he asked. “Why come yourself?”

After looking at the two higher-ups that sat beside him and giving them both a nod, Fury returned his gaze back to Coulson, “Phil, that’s because there’s something I want to give him that only I can give him.” he stated. “Now, there’s usually a big ceremony for this, but I know from talking to Grant’s doctors and the agents in charge of him that he’s not a big fan of large crowds. So I decided to keep this small and very intimate to spare him the trouble.”

“Wait,” Grant blinked and looked at Fury, confusion setting in. “What are you talking about? Ceremony?”

A smile tugged at Coulson’s lips when he realized just what was going on, but he decided to remain quiet.

Fury nodded and reached inside of his coat, “Now, Coulson knows that I’m not much for sentiment, so I’m going to keep this nice and simple.” he began. “No show, no flare. I’m just giving you what you deserve and what I know that you’re truly comfortable with. So I feel like this is the best way to do this.” He retracted his hand and pulled out a small, round object and placed it down on the table, sliding it towards Grant.

Grant blinked and stared at the object, not quite sure of what to make of it. It was golden and round in shape. There was an eagle etched into the gold and a black ribbon hung from the bottom. He reached for it and took it between two fingers. He wasn’t really sure of what to do with it, only because he didn’t know what it was. Coulson, Fury, and the higher-ups were the only ones in the room that knew what it was.

“Agent Ward, do you know what that is?”

“Uh, no sir.” Grant stated, placing the medallion down on the table and looking back up at the Director. “What is it?”

“That is a Golden Eagle. SHIELD’s highest honor.” Fury began to explain, leaning back in his chair. “Reserved only for agents who truly put it all on the line for the SHIELD cause, and I believe that you’re worthy of it. You saved over a hundred lives, Agent Ward. That truly is something worth celebrating. So, with all the highest honors, I have decided to bestow this honor to you.” His lips pulled into a smile as he stood to his feet, something that was quite rare for Fury, “Congratulations, Agent Ward, you deserve it.”

And with that, Fury left the room flanked by the two higher-ups, leaving Grant in complete shock and awe. The half-demon stared down at the medallion lying upon the tabletop, not sure of what to do next. He looked up to Coulson, waiting for him to say something.

The older agent smiled at him, “See? I told you that something good would come from this.” he stated. “Wear it proudly.”

“I-I’m supposed to _wear_ this?”

Coulson chuckled, “No, no. It’s actually best that we get something for you to keep it in. Usually, medals and pins are worn when an agent wears their official SHIELD uniform, which doesn’t happen all that often. Like if you’re called to a government meeting or have to go a SHIELD ceremony, something like that, you’ll wear your uniform. And that medal will be pinned on the uniform’s chest. It’s a symbol of your heroism and bravery.”

Grant picked the medallion up and stared at it in awe, “Heroism?” he croaked. “So I’m a hero after all?”

“Well, Fury thinks so. And it’s usually a pretty big deal when Fury thinks that way.”

A big smile grew on his face as he turned the golden medal over in his hand. He looked over at Skye, “See, Skye? I am a hero after all.”

She smiled back at him, tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. She was honestly so proud of him. And she hadn’t seen him this happy in a long time, so it really pulled at the strings of her heart. “Of course you are, Grant.” she said, leaning over to give him another kiss. “You’ve always been a hero, no matter if you saw it yourself or not.”

Coulson smiled to himself and rose to his feet, “Considering Grant won’t go on a mission for another couple of days, how about we go out to a celebratory dinner later? My treat.”

“Sure.” Skye stated, standing up as well and reaching out a hand towards Grant. “I don’t have much work today so that sounds fine. Grant, how about it?”

Grant looked up and took Skye’s hand with his free hand and stood to his feet, still towering over her, “Yeah, I guess. As long as there’s not a whole lot of people in the restaurant. I still don’t want people staring at my ears.”

She kissed his cheek again, “Oh, you’ll be fine.” she stated, smiling as she watched Grant’s tail wag in happiness. “You need to get out more anyways.”

Coulson laughed and placed his hands on their shoulders, beginning to lead them out of the room, “I’ll be sure to make it extra special for ya’, Grant.”

“You don’t have to do that, Dad.”

“Grant, it’s not every day when a SHIELD agent receives a Golden Eagle. The last time that that happened was three years ago. It’s a rare award. You need a dinner worthy of a hero himself.”

“As long as he doesn’t eat out the entire restaurant.” Skye laughed slightly. “Be sure to limit him.”

Grant let out a soft growl and looked away from Skye as they walked, “That’s no way to treat me. I still don’t like that tease.”

“Skye, it’s Grant’s special day. Don’t do that to him.” Coulson warned. “I thought you retired that joke years ago.”

“Nope. I still have it.”

Grant muttered underneath his breath. “Doesn’t matter, I’m still gonna be a superhero before you.” he stated firmly. “Just watch. I’m already a hero, so it won’t take much to be an actual superhero.”

“That bet’s still on?”

A smirk pulled at Grant’s lips, “Yep. Don’t think that I ever forgot about that.”

“No, I still bet I’m gonna be a superhero before you! Quake will be known all over the world!”

“Not if Hellfire is first!”

Coulson rolled his eyes, not believing that they were bickering like teenagers again. But at least it showed that Grant was in a much better mood now that his charges were dropped and he got the medal. Hopefully, Grant’s mood would continue to improve from here on out.

“Hellfire’s gonna be the best superhero in the world!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, there's probably only two or three chapters left, with the last chapter being set a couple of years into the future. But at least we don't have to worry about Grant being locked up or executed anymore, so that's that! Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	53. Embrace What You Have Become

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks later...

(About Two Weeks Later)

“Any reason to why we have to have _him_ on this mission?”

Grant bared his fangs at the opposing agent, but decided to remain quiet as he leaned up against the wall of the briefing room next to Skye. His eyes trailed from the agent in front of him to Coulson, whom of which had been chosen to lead this particular mission only because it didn’t require a high level; he was still only a level six.

“Agent Morris, I will tell you now that I don’t tolerate any hate towards any other agent.” Coulson began slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Especially towards Agent Ward. If you keep up like this, I will have you and your team dismissed from this mission. Do you understand?”

Morris rolled his eyes and looked away from Grant, “Yes, _sir_.” he growled. “I understand.”

Coulson sighed, “Normally, we do not send Agent Ward on missions that involves a team. We’re taking a risk here by doing this, and he’s technically not even working directly with your strike team, Morris. We need his skills for something else. There’s a very powerful bomb in the lowest level of the building that’s set to go off at the leader’s luxury. And since the building is situated in the middle of a heavily-populated area, it’ll kill a whole lot of people if it has the chance to go off. That’s where Agent Ward comes in.” Coulson turned to face his son, “You go in and disarm the bomb. You may be only a level four, but you have plenty of experience when it comes to bombs. That’s why we chose you for this.”

An arrogant smirk pulled at Grant’s lips and he directed it right towards Agent Morris. He absolutely _loved_ to rub his achievements in his enemies’ faces, only because it showed that he wasn’t some kind of worthless monster. He looked back to Coulson after he saw a twitch in Morris’ face.

“And once Ward infiltrates the building and disarms the bomb,” Coulson paused and directed his gaze back towards Morris. “Morris and his strike team will storm the building to find the leader of this group and to take out any opposition. Once the leader is in our custody, he’ll be brought back to this base for interrogation. Should be simple.”

“That’s what you said about that one mission where I had to retrieve some serum.” Grant muttered, his tail swishing lazily behind him. “Remember how that turned out. I,”

Grant stopped as Skye elbowed him in the side and shot him a nasty glare. “Grant!” she exclaimed. “Not now.”

Coulson rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. When Grant’s mood had started to improve after his charges had been dropped two weeks ago, that meant his arrogant and cocky attitude had started to return as well. Coulson really hadn’t missed it one bit. He was just glad that the half-demon didn’t act this way when he was just around him and Skye.

“Yes, that is true. We underestimated the enemy combatants there.” Coulson agreed with a nod of his head. “But we have put extra precautions into this mission, so it should go smoothly.” He looked to Skye, “The _other_ Agent Ward will be running background support from a nearby surveillance van to ensure that everything does go smoothly. She will be with two other communications agents.”

“Coulson, why can’t I just go by Agent Skye?” Skye asked, threading her fingers with Grant’s. “I mean, it’s a little confusing for both me and Grant to go by ‘Agent Ward’. And besides, he was an agent before I was.”

“Skye, I’m only calling you that because that’s what your official SHIELD documents say.” Coulson answered. “That is what other agents are supposed to call you on missions and that’s what your ID badge says. If you want me to, I’ll work a few things out with the higher-ups later on.”

Skye shrugged, “Whatever.”

“Alright, so we should be good here.” Coulson stated, giving the three a nod. “Report in the hangar at 0700 hours tomorrow morning after getting geared up.” He walked out of the room after giving both Grant and Skye a smile.

Morris sneered and finally returned his attention back to Grant, “Why does everyone think you’re so special?” he asked, hostility lacing his voice. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re just a monster that gets a free ride with everything.”

Grant rolled his eyes, stepping forward, “Not this again. I don’t see why everyone thinks I’m entitled or something.” he stated calmly, trying his best not to get worked up. He didn’t want to slip-up now. “Maybe the reason to why everyone thinks I’m special is because I am. I have abilities that the higher-ups want to use to SHIELD’s advantage. Not everyone is a near-indestructible half-demon with pyrokinetic abilities. SHIELD likes to use me because I’m useful. I’m not some kind of worthless monster or anything of the sort.”

“Look, I don’t like you, _Ward_.” Morris spat, pointing a long, slender finger at him. “I never have. Just because you suddenly get a Golden Eagle out of the blue doesn’t mean a single damn thing. Something like you doesn’t deserve such an award.”

Grant’s tail flicked lazily behind him and it was clear that he obviously didn’t care to what the other agent was saying. Yes, he was getting on his nerves and was causing his anger to slowly rise, but he truly didn’t care to what he was saying. He reached out and placed a rough hand on Morris’ shoulder, “Honestly, Morris, I don’t care to what you’re saying. I earned that award fair and square. You weren’t ever even considered for it, that much I know. I understand that maybe you’re jealous, but showing hostility towards me isn’t going to do a single thing. So just drop it now.” Grant gave him a strained smile, “I’ll see your ass first thing in the morning.” He turned and took Skye’s hand, leading her out of the room and leaving behind a seething Morris.

The two made it back to their room and Grant plopped down on the bed once they got inside. “For fuck’s sake, I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m so entitled. I guess that they’re jealous, I don’t know.” he said, looking over as Skye crawled into the bed to get beside him.

She trailed her fingers down his stubble-covered jaw, “I’m just glad that you kept your cool and didn’t snap.” She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on his cheek, “There once was a time that if someone had done the same thing, you would’ve snapped and tried to kill them.”

“I… I think I’ve really come a long way, sweetheart. I’m not that broken kid anymore. I still have issues, but I’m not that bad.” Grant explained, rolling over so he could face her. “I’m not what my parent made me to be anymore.”

“Yeah, you really proved them wrong.” Skye smiled as Grant drew her close and laid his tail across her. “You’re the hero they thought that you couldn’t be. Do you think that you’d ever be able to face them again?”

“Maybe in a few years. As long as they don’t start screaming at me or anything of the like. I’d just like to move on and trying to face them again is probably the best way to do so.” Grant paused and sighed, “I want to prove that they can’t drag me down again anymore. Even though I’d really like to try to restore things with my younger siblings and actually have you meet them, I still need to face my parents and Christian again. Maybe just to say ‘fuck you’ and show them that they didn’t destroy me.”

A smile pulled at Skye’s lips and she laughed, “That’s something I’d personally like to see. Honestly, I’d like to sock them in the face for what they did to you. But I don’t want to resort to violence, that’s your thing.”

“I don’t want to stoop down to their level, Skye. You know that.” Grant chuckled and buried his head into the top of her hair. “I think the ‘fuck you’ would suffice.”

“Only you would say that.”

“At least it’s better than me going into a bad panic attack. Anything’s better than that.”

Skye smiled and snuggled up against his chest, “Honestly, you’ve really come a long way from your fifteen year old self, Grant. I’m proud of you.”

A hot blush started to rise to Grant’s cheeks, “I really hope that I’ve come a long way. If I didn’t, then I’m screwed.” he stated sheepishly. “But I’m glad with what I have now, despite the issues that I still have. I have an amazing wife and Coulson’s a way better father than my biological one ever will be. I’m actually happy with my life for once.”

Skye’s smile grew, “That’s amazing, sweetheart. You deserve to be happy.”

Grant brought her closer and kissed the top of her head, “You just don’t understand how happy I actually am. You make me happy. Dad makes me happy. My job makes me happy. Hell, I’m happy that I’m finally happy.”

And that warmed Skye’s heart. It always made her happy to hear Grant say that he was genuinely happy with everything. Even to this day, it was rare for him to be truly happy, especially with the more recent events of the monster. And Skye truly hoped that his happiness would last for the years to come.

He had finally become a hero in the eyes of SHIELD. All he ever wanted was to be a hero in someone’s eyes, and he had finally gotten just that. He had proved that he wasn’t the monster that his genetics to be. And most of all, he had proven his family all wrong.

Because at the end of the day, the monster can be the hero too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, the epilogue is the only chapter left. It'll take place about four or five years in the future and will go back to a certain story point from a long time ago. And if you've read some of my other fics, some familiar characters will show up as well. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	54. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years later...

(Five Years Later)

Grant swung open the front door of their small home with a sigh, wriggling his tail from out underneath his shirt. As soon as he took a step inside, he was almost knocked down by the brute force of two very big dogs. He smiled and reached down to pet them both, “Hey, boys. Yes, I’m home for the day.” he cooed. He managed to get the two German shepherds, Max and Captain, off of him so he could close the door behind him.

“Skye? Where are you?” he called out. “I know that it’s late, but I ran into a, uh, problem.”

“It’s only seven o’clock, Grant. That’s not all that late.” Skye came out of the hallway and came towards him, looping her arms around him once she got to him. She kissed him and pulled away, “But what kept you?”

“Ah, I’ll tell you later. Where’s Adian?”

Skye pointed back over her shoulder, “He’s getting into his pajamas. I’m surprised that he didn’t hear you come in.” she replied. “Give him a minute or two.”

Grant snorted as he slipped off his jacket and threw it over his shoulder, “To be half-demon, half-Inhuman, he’s not very observant sometimes.” he commented, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch. “I wonder where he gets that from.”

“Probably you. You’re a little oblivious sometimes.” Skye stated, taking Grant’s jacket and going over to hang it on a hook on the wall. “Sometimes you just,”

“Daddy!”

Grant barely had any time to react before something launched itself into his lap. He huffed as the air was knocked out of him and he managed to sit up and wrap around his arms around what had jumped into his lap, “Hey, buddy.”

A pair of bright, brown eyes stared back at him. “You home!”

Grant smiled back at his son as the little boy cuddled up against his chest, “Yeah, I’m home.” he stated softly. “Sorry it took so long. Daddy got caught up with something else.”

“We already ate.”

“Oh, you did?” Grant asked with amusement in his voice. “What did you eat?”

Adian snuggled closer to his father’s chest, “Chicken!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “And ‘tatos!”

“There’s some in the fridge if you’re hungry.” Skye spoked up, slipping into the chair that sat adjacent on the couch. She reached for the remote on the table and turned the TV on.

Grant nodded, “I’ll eat once we get this little monster to bed.” he stated. He ran a hand through his son’s thick, black hair, “Looks like it won’t be long until he’s out.”

“Not sleepy.” Adian protested, taking his father’s tail and playing with its fluffy tip. “No bed.”

“Oh, you’ll be asleep sooner or later. I’ll just hold you here until you are.” Grant whispered, watching his son carefully. “We’ll just watch some TV for a while.”

“’Kay.”

“Say, Grant,” Skye began, shifting in her chair. “So why were you late? You’re usually at home right at five on the days you don’t have missions. And I know that today wasn’t a mission day. I didn’t have to do any comms work for Coulson today. You should’ve just been training the gifted recruits at the Triskellion.”

Grant raised a finger and pointed at the TV just as some kind of news report came on, “I believe that  should give you your answers.”

Skye frowned and turned to face the TV just as the news anchor began to talk.

_“Washington DC authorities are currently investigating a massive fire today just outside of Capitol Hill. The inferno engulfed an apartment building, trapping several residents inside. But, amazingly, no one was seriously injured or killed in this incident. Witnesses report a man going into the building and carrying out the survivors._

_It is reported that the man himself was covered in flames, but did not seem to be in any pain as he rescued those trapped inside the burning building. One survivor that was carried out by the man claims that he had a tail and long, pointed ears. Could this perhaps be another rising Inhuman vigilante, or could this be a new breed of superhero?”_

Skye blinked, turning to face Grant as the news anchor went onto something else, “I… I assume that was you?” she asked. “I don’t know of any other fire-resistant guys with tails in DC.”

Grant grinned and looked down to Adian, “Yeah, it was me.” he stated meekly. “I was on my way home and saw the flames, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I was really hoping that no one would see my tail. But it’s kind of hard to use my flames with my tail in my shirt considering that the tip flares up as well.”

“Grant, sweetheart, I think someone seeing your tail is the least of your worries, considering that no one really saw who you were.” Skye said, rising from her chair and switching over to the couch so she could sit next to him and Adian. She watched as Max and Captain trotted into the room and laid down at the base of the couch. “They’re calling you a hero.”

He ducked his head and smiled, “Guess that means you owe me a hundred bucks now.”

Skye frowned and raised an eyebrow, “Huh?”

“You don’t remember that bet we made like forever ago about the first one to become a superhero?” He looked up and pointed at her, “This means you lost the bet and you’ve gotta fork over a hundred dollars.”

“Grant, you know that our money comes from the same place.”

“A bets a bet, Skye.”

She sighed, “Ugh, fine. I just want you to know that the only reason that you became a superhero first is because I’m at home with Adian. I’m not about to risk my life when we have a three year old son to take care of.” she explained lightly. “And you really don’t need to be risking your life either.”

“I know, I know. It’s just that I’m finally something that I’ve always wanted to be, Skye.” Grant looked at Adian and cradled him closer to his chest, causing the little boy to look up at him. “I know that I was a hero in SHIELD’s eyes five years ago, but it’s a whole other thing to be a hero in the eyes of the world. I finally have the courage to step out and be a _superhero_ and prove that I’m truly not a monster.”

Adian stopped playing with his father’s tail, “Daddy’s a superhero?” he asked, his brown eyes shining. “Like Capt’n ‘Merica?”

Grant’s smile grew and he nodded, “Maybe not quite like Captain America, but close.” he said, kissing the top of Adian’s head. “Maybe I’ll get there some day.”

“Can you be in the ‘Vengers?!” Adian exclaimed happily. He turned to face his mother, “Can Daddy be in the ‘Vengers?”

Skye smiled and laughed, “Ah, I don’t know about that. I think he wouldn’t want to leave us to do that.” She reached over and poked him in his belly, “He loves us far too much.”

“No ‘Vengers?”

“No,” Grant began, standing to his feet and taking Adian into his arms. “No Avengers.” He smiled as he noticed Adian’s eyes starting to grow heavy. It wouldn’t be long until the little boy was fast asleep.

“Can I be in the ‘Vengers?” Adian asked sleepily, nuzzling up against his father’s chest. “And be like Daddy?”

“Maybe one day.” Skye said softly, rising to her feet and walking over. She kissed the top of her son’s head, “But you need to sleep first. We have a long day tomorrow. Papa’s coming to watch you while me and Daddy are busy.”

“Papa’s coming?” Adian was almost asleep, the warmth of his father’s body pushing him ever so closer.

“Yeah, but we need a well-rested Adian before he can come, so you need to sleep.”

“Want Max and Capt’n.”

“They can come too.”

Grant gently took Adian and carried him to his room, followed by Skye and their two dogs. He carefully tucked the little boy into his bed and got Max and Captain to jump up on the bed to get with him. He leaned down and kissed Adian’s forehead, “Good night, buddy.”

“Night.” Adian mumbled, cuddling right into Max’s black fur as Captain laid against his back.

Skye came forward and kissed his forehead as well before leaving the room along with Grant. They went back into the living room and sat down on the couch together. “He really wants to be just like you, doesn’t he?”

Grant laughed slightly and nodded, “Yeah, I’d rather not for him to be just like me.”

“Grant, you know he just means the heroic part and your powers. He’s like your biggest fan.”

“I know, I know. I just rather him not go through the things I have to go through because of my powers and such. I’d rather him be like you and not get his powers until he goes through Terrigenesis, but there’s no telling to what gene is stronger. He is half and half after all.”

“Hopefully, we’ll get lucky with him. But at least we’re prepared if he inherits your powers.” Skye began, leaning up against her husband. “And he’ll have a much, much better support system than you did. So he’ll be able to get his powers trained early. He won’t have to suffer.”

Grant nodded again, “Yeah, he will. Even though I don’t want him to inherit my demonic nature, there’s still that chance. But I still ensure that he’ll completely understand what he is. And you know that there’s a chance of him being even stronger than I am since he’s not human at all. We have to be careful with him.”

“Grant, it’s _Adian_ of all people. I know that he’s only three, but I don’t think he would even hurt a fly. He’s got too big of a heart already. He’ll probably be what you would’ve been if it wasn’t for your family.” Skye explained. “He’ll be an absolute sweetheart.”

A smiled pulled at Grant’s lips. Even if he hadn’t had the best childhood, he wanted Adian to have everything. He wanted the little boy to grow into an amazing person. He didn’t want him to go down the same path that he himself had gone down for so long. Adian truly deserved the world.

“Yeah, he will be.”

“But you’re a sweetheart as well. All your hate and anger has really diminished in the past five years. You’ve really come a long way.” She smiled and threaded her fingers with his, beginning to play with his wedding band. “You’re an amazing husband and an amazing father. Adian really looks up to you. If this whole hero thing doesn’t work out, at least you’ll be a hero to your own son.”

Grant smiled and his fangs shone in the dim light. Pride started to swell in his chest. Even though many wouldn’t want to see him as a hero because of what he was, at least his son would always seem him as one. So it truly didn’t matter if the world saw him as a hero or not, at least he had made it clear of who he really was to SHIELD five years ago. But the only thing that truly matter was what his own family, not the one he was born to but the one he made, thought of him. At least he would always have that in his heart.

“Yeah, at least I’m a superhero in someone’s eyes.”

 

 

_End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And holy crap, we're actually done. Now, the original AU went so much further, but I don't want to put Grant through more pain, so I'll end it here. And to note, the timeline of this fic is different than the canon timeline. The Avengers formed a few years earlier than they really did and the Inhumans were discovered several years before as well, considering this fic ends in about 2010. But it still all works out in the end. I really, really hope that you enjoyed! Please leave a comment or kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> Just another idea me and a friend on Tumblr had! I hope you enjoyed!


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